Senior United States District Judge Malcolm Howard Wednesday called for detention hearings on September 1 and 2 at the federal courthouse in Greenville. Six defendants and their attorneys will appear before the judge each day.

Howard explained the reasoning for the hearings in an order filed in the federal court record of the case.

“Although a district court is generally without authority to take any adjudicatory action related to a matter on appeal, the same statute which expressly authorizes the district court to impose conditions upon release pending appeal, implicitly authorizes the court to make such amendment to these conditions as circumstances may necessitate.”

Case precedent, he wrote, expressly authorizes a trial court to reopen the detention hearing at any

time before trial if the judicial official becomes apprised of new information material to the issue of detention.

Apart from the provisions contained in Unite States Code, Howard said, “The court finds the detention issue must be reopened to examine more fundamental constitutional concerns which became apparent

to this court at a hearing Tuesday on the defendants' motion to continue arraignment.

“An examination of due process implications arising from defendants' continued detention is warranted based on defendants' limited or burdened access to counsel and discovery information due to prison policies and an existing protective order.”

At these hearings Howard wrote he will consider the following issues:

Seriousness of the charges.

Defendants' risk of flight or danger to the community.

Strength of the government's case on the merits.

Complexity of the case and whether the strategy of one side or the other has added needlessly to that complexity.

Scheduled for the first day are: Lann Clanton; Jason Boone; Adrienne Moody; Cory Jackson: Ikeisha Jacobs and Jimmy Pair Jr.

Scheduled for the second day are: Curtis Boone; Antonio Tillmon; Alania Sue-Kam-Ling; Kavon Phillips; Alphonso Ponton and Thomas Jefferson Allen III.