United States v. Smith

Full title: United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Devion Smith, Defendant.

Court: United States District Court, District of Kansas

Date published: Dec 22, 2023

23-10107-01 EFM (D. Kan. Dec. 22, 2023)

Opinion

23-10107-01 EFM

12-22-2023

United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Devion Smith, Defendant.

ERIC F. MELGREN, CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE.

ORDER FOR CONTINUANCE

ERIC F. MELGREN, CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE.

Now on this 22nd day of December, 2023, the above matter comes before the Court on Defendant Devion Smith's Motion for Continuance (Doc. 13) to continue the pretrial motions deadline, status conference, and jury trial for 30 days. The government does not object to the defendant's request.

Having reviewed the motion, and being familiar with the case history, this Court finds that Mr. Smith was arraigned on October 11, 2023. D.E. 4. The government provided discovery on November 14, 2023, which consisted of 281 pages of documents and 26 audio and/or video recordings. Counsel has not yet had the opportunity to finish reviewing the discovery with Mr. Smith, who is out on bond. Additional time is needed to finish reviewing the discovery with Mr. Smith and determine whether to conduct investigations, and determine whether to file pretrial motions.

For these reasons, this Court finds that additional time is necessary for counsel's effective preparation, taking into account counsel's exercise of due diligence. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv). This Court further finds that the period of delay resulting from this continuance shall be excluded in computing time under the Speedy Trial Act, because the ends of justice served by granting this continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7).

Specifically, the time from December 21, 2023, to the Court's ruling on this motion to continue is excluded, as is the time from the trial setting of February 13, 2024, to the new trial setting of March 26, 2024.

This Court therefore grants the requested continuance, and imposes the following deadlines:

1. Motions due January 22, 2024.

2. Status Conference will be held on March 4, 2024.

3. Jury Trial scheduled for March 26, 2024.

It is therefore ordered that the Motion for Continuance (Doc. 13) is granted.

So ordered.