Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 3:24-cr-00016-TES-CHW-1
09-03-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DWAN MAURICE HEWLETT, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S UNOPPOSED MOTION TO CONTINUE
TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE
Before the Court is Defendant Dwan Maurice Hewlett's Unopposed Motion to Continue Trial in the Interest of Justice [Doc. 26]. On May 14, 2024, the Grand Jury returned a four-count Indictment [Doc. 1] charging Defendant with various drug- and firearm-related crimes. Defendant pled “not guilty” at his arraignment on June 18, 2024, and was detained pending trial. [Doc. 13]; [Doc. 14]; [Doc. 17]. On June 20, 2024, the Court scheduled Defendant's pretrial conference for July 2, 2024. The next day, the Court continued this case for the first time. [Doc. 21].
Defendant filed this Motion on August 29, 2024, seeking a second continuance. [Doc. 26]. In his Motion, Defendant states that he “received partial discovery on June 21, 2024,” and that defense counsel has since determined that the discovery is incomplete. [Id. at p. 2]. Defendant further states that the Government has requested the missing discovery from a law enforcement agency and that defense counsel needs to receive and scrutinize the missing discovery materials “to determine whether any evidence contained therein is pertinent to any pretrial motions to be filed.” [Id.]. According to Defendant, “the Government is unopposed” to this Motion. [Id.].
The Court finds that granting Defendant's request serves the ends of justice. The Court further finds that the ends of justice served by granting Defendant's request outweigh the interests of Defendant and the public in a speedy trial. Failure to grant a continuance would deny counsel for Defendant the reasonable time necessary to review discovery and effectively prepare for trial, taking into account the exercise of due diligence. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).
Thus, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion [Doc. 26] and CONTINUES the Pretrial Conference until September 17, 2024, and the trial of this matter until October 28, 2024. The delay occasioned by this continuance shall be deemed excludable pursuant to the provisions of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161(h)(7)(A) and 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).
SO ORDERED.