Opinion
No. 97-C-1834
September 5, 2003
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR EXTENSION
Petitioner seeks additional time in which to file an amended petition. Following a September 2, 2003, hearing the Court took the matter under advisement. The Court now grants the motion.
Petitioner filed a post-conviction petition on April 28, 2003. On May 1, the Court issued a scheduling order requiring counsel to file an amended petition within 90 days and setting a hearing for December 1, 2003. The Post Conviction Defender's Office, which was appointed to represent petitioner in this case, was unable to comply with the Court's order and requested additional time in which to do so. Having considered petitioner's various pleadings as well as the arguments advanced during the June 4 and September 2 hearings, the Court grants petitioner's request for additional time and orders counsel to file an amended petition no later than April 28, 2004. On that same date, counsel must provide the State with the reports of all expert witnesses whom they expect to call as witnesses during the post-conviction hearing. The State will have thirty days to respond to this petition and the Court will conduct a hearing the week of June 14, 2004.
The Court recognizes that granting petitioner's motion will prevent the Court from complying with the statutory provision requiring it to conduct a hearing and issue an order within one year of the filing of the original petition. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-211(d) (Repl. 1997). Although the delay is unavoidable, the Court expects the parties and their witnesses to be fully prepared for the June hearing and the Court will issue its order as soon as possible following the conclusion of that hearing.
ENTERED this the ___ day of September, 2003.