Opinion
CRIMINAL NO. 1:19-00308
06-25-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JAN RUCKER
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Pending before the court is defendant's motion to continue trial in this case for 45 days. (ECF No. 31.) Counsel for defendant states that additional time is needed to review recently received discovery materials, and defendant also states that the government is not opposed to this requested continuance. (Id.) Pursuant to this court's earlier order, (ECF No. 30), a jury trial was set in this case for July 29, 2020. Proposed voir dire questions, jury instructions, and witness lists were due by July 21, 2020, and pretrial motions were due by June 29, 2020, with a pretrial motions hearing set for July 6, 2020. (Id.) For good cause shown, the court hereby GRANTS defendant's motion to continue.
Because failure to grant the requested continuance would likely result in a miscarriage of justice, the court finds that the ends of justice outweigh the best interest of the defendant and the public in a speedy trial, see 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A), and GRANTS the defendant's motion to continue. In deciding to grant defendant's motion, the court considered the factors outlined in 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B) and finds that denying the motion "would deny counsel for the defendant . . . the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence." Id. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).
Accordingly, the court hereby ORDERS as follows: I. Pretrial motions are due to the court by August 10, 2020; II. The pretrial motions hearing is continued until August 17, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. in Bluefield; III. Proposed Jury Instructions, Proposed Voir Dire, and Proposed Witness Lists are due to the court by September 2, 2020; IV. Trial of this action is continued until September 9, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. in Bluefield; V. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A), the time from the filing of defendant's motion to the new trial date of September 9, 2020, is excludable for purposes of the Speedy Trial Act.
The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order to all counsel of record, to the United States Marshal for the Southern District of West Virginia, and to the Probation Office of this court.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 25th day of June, 2020.
ENTER:
/s/_________
David A. Faber
Senior United States District Judge