Opinion
5:22-CR-53-CAR-CHW-3
07-19-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LATONA MAE LAMBERT, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE
Currently before the Court is Defendant's Unopposed Motion to Continue [Doc. 94] the pretrial conference scheduled for July 19, 2023, and the trial, which is set to begin on August 7, 2023, in Macon, Georgia.
On October 22, 2022, the Grand Jury returned a multi-defendant, multi-count indictment charging Defendant Lambert with Failure to Report Suspected Child Abuse. On October 19, 2022, Defendant was arrested, retained counsel, pled not guilty at her arraignment, and was released on an unsecured bond with conditions pending trial.
On June 6, 2023, the Government filed a Petition for Action on Conditions on Pretrial Release seeking to revoke Defendant's pretrial release due to her conduct while on pretrial supervision. On June 7, 2023, Defendant was arrested in the Southern District of South Carolina, and at the pretrial release revocation hearing on June 14, 2023, the Court found Defendant violated the Order Setting Conditions of Release but did not revoke the order and released Defendant from custody. On July 11, 2023, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment charging Defendant with two additional counts: Accessory after the Fact and Making False Statements. This case has been previously continued, and the Government does not oppose Defendant's current request.
In the Motion defense counsel states that the additional charges involve additional discovery not yet provided by the Government; thus additional time is needed to review the new discovery and conduct investigation into the new charges alleged. The Court finds the ends of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the interests of Defendant and the public in a speedy trial. Failure to grant a continuance would deny counsel reasonable time to address these matters and could result in a miscarriage of justice. Thus, Defendant's Unopposed Motion to Continue [Doc. 94] is GRANTED, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be continued until September 25, 2023, the next regularly scheduled term of Court for the Macon Division. The delay occasioned by this continuance shall be deemed excludable pursuant to the provisions of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161.
SO ORDERED.