Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 1:19-CR-435-AT-1
06-21-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. CAOJO DETORI STEWART,
ORDER
AMY TOTENBERG, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Presently before the Court is the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) [Doc. 166] recommending that Defendant's Motion to Sever Counts [Doc. 101] be denied. The Defendant filed objections to the R&R [Doc. 169].
A district judge has broad discretion to accept, reject, or modify a magistrate judge's proposed findings and recommendations. United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 680 (1980). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), the Court reviews any portion of the R&R that is the subject of a proper objection on a de novo basis and any non-objected portion on a “clearly erroneous” standard. The Defendant objected on numerous substantive grounds to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation. Accordingly, the Court has reviewed the record in this case on a de novo basis.
After an independent de novo review of Defendant's Motion to Sever and Objections, the Court finds that the R&R is legally correct and based on a fair and appropriate assessment of the evidence. While Defendant's objections with respect to potential prejudice concerns are understandable, the counts are integrally related and properly joined. Accordingly, the Court OVERRULES Defendant's Objections [Doc. 169]; ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R [Doc. 166]; and DENIES Defendant's Motion to sever Counts [Doc. 101]. The Court is prepared to provide cautionary instructions to the jury at the outset of trial and throughout trial to mitigate the any risk of unfair prejudice that might be caused by trial of Counts 6-10 with 1-5. The Defendant should submit any proposed instructions it requests that the Court provide to the jury at the outset of the trial at least 10 days prior to the pretrial conference in this case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.