Opinion
2:18-cr-00063-GZS
08-29-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RICHARD DANIELS, et al., Defendants.
REPORT OF PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE & ORDER
George Z. Singal, United States District Judge.
On August 29, 2022, the Court held a telephonic status conference to discuss preparing for trial in this matter, which is currently on the October 2022 trial list. Assistant United States Attorneys David Joyce and Johnathan Nathans appeared for the Government. Attorneys Timothy Zerillo and Stephen Sweatt appeared for Defendants Brian Bilodeau and Brian Bilodeau LLC (together, the “Bilodeau Defendants”).
To the extent that two other corporate Defendants remain in this matter (TY Properties LLC & TY Construction LLC), the Government confirmed that it will dismiss the charges pending against these two Defendants without prejudice before jury selection. Thus, only the Bilodeau Defendants will proceed to trial in October 2022.
Jury Selection: October 3, 2022
Counsel confirmed that they are prepared to proceed to jury selection on October 3, 2022. Both sides orally indicated their consent to jury selection before the Magistrate Judge. However, the Court instructed counsel for both the Government and the Bilodeau Defendants to file a written consent on the docket.
Trial: October 11-14 & 17-20, 2022
Given that only the Bilodeau Defendants are proceeding to trial, counsel agreed that this matter can be tried in six days or less. As a result, the Court has reserved October 11, 2022 through October 20, 2022 for trial and jury deliberations in this matter.
All trial briefs and requested instructions shall be filed on or before September 26, 2022.
Motions in Limine
With respect to motions in limine, Attorney Zerillo indicated that he intends to respond to the three motions already filed by the Government (ECF Nos. 1147-1149) by September 6, 2022. Any reply shall be filed on or before September 14, 2022.
Any additional motions in limine shall be filed on or before September 14, 2022. Responses to those motions shall be filed no later than September 23, 2022. While a reply is not required, the Court will consider any reply filed by September 30, 2022.
Other Issues
The Government raised two other issues for discussion. First, in order to correct an error related to Count 14, it plans to seek a superseding indictment. However, counsel agreed that this amendment to the Indictment would not require any delay in the trial schedule. Second, the Government raised the need to have one expert witness appear by video. Attorney Zerillo indicated he would consent to video testimony by this one witness. Counsel shall submit either a stipulation or unopposed motion for this witness to appear by video. The Government shall coordinate this video appearance with the Courtroom Deputy and the Court's I.T. Department in order to avoid any delay of trial.
SO ORDERED.