Opinion
1:23-CR-58-HAB
01-05-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. PETRU-RAZVAN BRUMA, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
HOLLY A. BRADY, CHIEF JUDGE
This matter comes before the Court on the Government's Motion to Continue Pretrial Motion Cutoff Date, Plea Agreement Deadline, Final Pretrial Conference, and Jury Trial (ECF No. 24) (the “Motion”), filed on January 2, 2024. The pretrial motion cutoff deadline was January 2, 2024; the plea deadline is January 9, 2024; the final pretrial conference is set for January 16, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.; and the three-day jury trial is set to commence on January 30, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. The Government now moves to continue these dates for a period of at least forty-five (45) days. According to the Motion, the Government contacted Defendant's counsel to obtain his position and counsel advised that he has no objection to the continuance. (Id. at ¶ 15). For the reasons below, the Government's Motion will be GRANTED.
The Motion posits that the current deadlines do not afford the Government sufficient time to review a forthcoming expert report and translations of jail calls made by Defendant. (Id. at ¶¶ 8, 12). According to the Government, they have enlisted an expert to examine a device at issue in this case to determine the “what the device is, how it is used, and its functionality.” (Id. ¶ 2). The Government is sending the device to the expert this week. (Id.). The expert advised that his examination would take approximately three weeks to complete and, following the examination, the expert will issue a report. (Id. at ¶ 5). Three weeks from January 5, 2024, is January 26, 2024. (Id. at ¶ 7). The three-day jury trial is presently set to commence on January 30, 2024.
The Government further asserts that they have enlisted a linguist to translate several jail phone calls made by the Defendant from Romanian to English. (Id. ¶ 9). The linguist advised that the translations are to be completed by January 16, 2024. (Id. at ¶ 10). Both the expert's report and the linguist's translations will be sent to Defendant's counsel once received by the Government. (Id. at ¶¶ 6, 11) Thus, the Government claims that a continuance is proper under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).
The Speedy Trial Act provides several factors for determining whether the Government has provided grounds for a continuance and for excluding any delay from the Speedy Trial calculation. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B). One such factor is whether the failure to grant a continuance “would deny counsel for the defendant or the attorney for the Government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv). And that is precisely the case here.
The Government has demonstrated that it is entitled to a continuance of the length requested. The expert's examination of the device at issue will be completed just four days before the trial in this case is set to commence. And the expert will likely need additional time to render a report. Once the report is finalized, the Government and Defendant's counsel will need time to review the report in preparation for trial. A speculative four days to review the expert's findings pertinent to a device at issue in this case is not “a reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.” Id. The Government and Defendant's counsel will also need time to review the linguist's translations which will not be completed until January 16, 2024. A continuance of at least forty-five (45) days is warranted in light of the fact that both parties will need time to review the aforementioned materials which are germane to this case.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Government's Motion to Continue Pretrial Motion Cutoff Date, Plea Agreement Deadline, Final Pretrial Conference, and Jury Trial (ECF No. 24) is GRANTED. The January 2, 2024 pretrial motion cutoff date is continued to February 13, 2024. The January 9, 2024 plea deadline is continued to February 20, 2024. Any reports required under FRCP 16(a)(1)(G) must be exchanged on or before February 27, 2024. The January 24, 2024 final pretrial conference is continued to February 27, 2024 at 2:30 PM. The January 30, 2024 trial setting is continued to March 12, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
SO ORDERED.