Federal Detention Center Philadelphia
According to a court filing in the NXIVM civil lawsuit, Clare Bronfman is to be transferred out of the Philadelphia Detention Center.
Her lead attorney in Sarah Edmondson et al., against Keith Raniere et al., Craig C. Martin, disclosed the news while asking for an extension to file papers in support of Bronfman’s motion to dismiss the civil suit.
He wrote his client is “in the process of being transferred between facilities.”
Our US Bureau of Prisons’ source indicated that her transfer is likely to be to the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury, a low-security federal prison. The prison is located in the City of Danbury, in southwestern Connecticut, approximately 55 miles from New York City, where Bronfman had her home before beginning her sentence.
FCI Danbury
Bronfman Will go Outdoors
This will be a welcome change for Bronfman, who has spent almost 18 months in the Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia, which operates as a maximum-security facility.
At FCI Danbury, Bronfman will be permitted to go outdoors to experience sunshine and fresh air. The Philadelphia Detention Center has no outdoor area.
There is ample outdoor space at Danbury, and prisoners are permitted to exercise and take recreation in the yard.
High to Low Security
The change from a high-security facility to low-security will also be significant.
According to the BOP, “Low-security Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs) have double-fenced perimeters, mostly dormitory or cubicle housing, and strong work and program components. The staff-to-inmate ratio in these institutions is lower than in maximum security facilities…
“High-security institutions, also known as United States Penitentiaries (USPs), have highly secured perimeters (featuring walls or reinforced fences), multiple- and single-occupant cell housing, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control of inmate movement.”
Different Caliber of Inmates
At Philadelphia, Bronfman was one of a minority of “cadre” inmates who are serving their sentence. Most inmates there are defendants awaiting trial and a small percentage who have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.
The change in the company will also be marked.
Since most are pretrial inmates in Philadelphia, it means they could not make bail. That is usually caused by the judge deeming them a flight risk, a danger to society, and/or their alleged crimes were so severe that it comes with a presumption of detention.
In low-security prisons, such as Danbury, she will be among inmates whose crimes do not warrant high-level or even mid-level security designations.
Keith Raniere
Short Time Allotment
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has given notice that it will hold oral arguments on appeals that Keith Raniere and Clare Bronfman have filed on May 3, 2022. Raniere is appealing his conviction, and Bronfman is appealing her 81-month sentence.
The time is allotting to hear oral arguments is:
Time Allotment:
United States of America 10 mins
Keith Raniere 5 mins
Clare Bronfman 5 mins
Our legal correspondent, K.R. Claviger, tells Frank Report, “What is not indicated in the notice of hearing – but which is pretty clear to me – is that it appears that the Second Circuit does not think there are any difficult issues to resolve in these two appeals (Five minutes is the minimum time that is allotted to any appellant when oral arguments are held on such appeals). There’s no way of knowing which way they’re leaning – but, if I had to bet one way or the other, I would go with both appeals being summarily denied.”
The Court has yet to decide if it will hear oral arguments in person, by Zoom, teleconference, or a combination of in-person and remote arguments.
Oral Significant or Not?
Some argue that oral arguments are archaic, harkening back to when many pleaders before the court could not read or write, yet the common law held everyone had the right to address the court and speak directly to those who decide his fate.
Today, most appeals are decided on the merits of written arguments. Still, I imagine that a persuasive oral argument, and perhaps some astute answers to appellate judges’ questions, might turn a close case in one’s favor.
In Raniere’s case, five minutes is not much time. His written appeal runs 96 pages.
Keith Raniere compared himself when discussing the brand he authorized to mark on his slaves to Abraham Lincoln and Bill Gates.
At the cemetery at Gettysburg, after orator Edward Everett spoke for two long hours, the man who followed him spoke for just three minutes and showed the world a model of what concise and meaningful speech might accomplish.
On May 3, in five minutes, attorneys will try to get Raniere a new birth of freedom —so that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not allow Raniere, while still in prison, to perish from the earth.
Viva Executive Success!
