The Federal Defender Program, Inc., for the Northern District of Georgia is moving to block the U.S. Marshals Service from moving pretrial detainees out of Atlanta, GA and into a detention facility in rural Irwin County, an approximate three hour drive from the United States District Courthouse and the Federal Defender Program. The distance between the courthouse and the rural detention facility is approximately 190 miles.
Spearheaded by Executive Director Natasha Perdew Silas, the Federal Defender Program's attorneys are filing motions to block the U.S. Marshals from moving their clients detained pretrial. The unilateral move by the U.S. Marshals raises constitutional concerns, including impeding a detained client's ability to prepare their defense. For more information on the U.S. Marshals' efforts and the Federal Defender Program's effort to block this transfer see The Atlantic Journal-Constitution article (2026).
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