Opinion
3:21-CR-39-CAR-15
03-03-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RANKO LUNIC, Defendant.
ORDER ON UNOPPOSED MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Before the Court is Defendant Ranko Lunic's Unopposed Motion to Continue [Doc. 418] the pretrial conference scheduled for March 8, 2023 and the trial, which is set to begin on April 3, 2023, in Athens, Georgia. On November 8, 2022, the Grand Jury returned a muti-defendant, multi-count superseding indictment charging Defendant Ranko Lunic with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. On December 2, 2022, Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment and after a detention hearing was released on a secured bond with conditions. The Court previously declared this case complex.This is Defendant's third request for a continuance, and the Government does not oppose it.
See Order Declaring Case Complex, [Doc. 95].
In the Motion, defense counsel states he has not yet received the discovery, and additional time is needed to receive and review the voluminous discovery and prepare any necessary motions. Having considered the matter, the Court finds it serves the ends of justice to grant the parties adequate time to address these matters. 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 for effective preparation and could result in a miscarriage of justice. Thus, Defendant's Unopposed Motion to Continue [Doc. 418] is GRANTED, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be continued until June 12, 2023, the next regularly scheduled term of Court for the Athens 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