Jordan et al v. Fisher et al

Filing 178

ORDER granting 177 Plaintiffs' Motion Status Conference; Conference to be held on November 7, 2019, at 9:00 am; ex parte appraisal of trial preparation needs submitted by October 31, 2019 Signed by District Judge Henry T. Wingate on October 11, 2019 (Rushing, Terryl)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
NORTHERN DIVISION
RICHARD JORDAN and
RICKY CHASE
VS.

PLAINTIFFS
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 3:15CV295HTW-LRA

PELICIA D. HALL, Commissioner,
Mississippi Department of Corrections;
MARSHAL TURNER, Superintendent,
Mississippi Defendants Penitentiary; THE
MISSISSIPPI DEFENDANTS EXECUTIONER,
And UNKNOWN EXECUTIONERS
ROBERT SIMON; THOMAS EDWIN
LODEN, JR. and ROGER ERIC THORSON

DEFENDANTS

INTERVENORS

ORDER SETTING STATUS CONFERENCE
This matter is before the Court on consideration of the Plaintiffs’ Notice of Decision in
Bucklew v. Precythe and Motion for Status Conference [177]. This case has been stayed pending
the disposition of Bucklew in the United States Supreme Court, as the parties agreed that one of
the issues in that case -- whether the Petitioner met his burden under Glossip v. Gross to
compare the procedures that would be used to administer his proposed alternative method of
execution to the State’s method of execution -- was one of the most heavily contested issues that
this Court will be required to decide.
The decision in Bucklew was recently announced, and the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Status
Conference contains their analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision. The Court will grant the
Motion and set a status conference. Prior to that conference, however, and in order to most
efficiently utilize the time of all parties, the Court wants a summary from each side as to how the
Bucklew decision affects their case, and, in light of that decision, what steps they believe remain

in order to prepare this case for trial. In order to get a candid appraisal, the Court directs those
submissions to be made simultaneously and ex parte, similar to the procedure for submitting a
confidential settlement memorandum.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Plaintiffs’ Motion for Status Conference [Doc. #177] is hereby granted, and a
status conference will be held on November 7, at 9:00 AM before the undersigned in
Courtroom 6A of the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse.
2. The Clerk of the Court is hereby directed to restore this case to the active docket.
3. The parties are directed to submit a candid appraisal of the effects of the Bucklew
decision on their position and what steps remain to prepare this case for trial. That
appraisal should be submitted to the undersigned, ex parte, on or before October 31,
2019.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this the 11th day of October, 2019.
/s/ HENRY T. WINGATE
United States District Judge

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