Opinion
CR20-0168-JCC
05-12-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. GREGORY TIFT, Defendant.
ORDER
JOHN C. COUGHENOUR, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter comes before the Court on the Government's motion to continue trial (Dkt. No. 194). Having thoroughly considered the briefing and finding oral argument unnecessary, the Court GRANTS the motion for the reasons described herein.
Defendant previously moved to continue in December 2021, (see Dkt. No. 53); the Government moved to continue in March 2022, (see Dkt. No. 84); the Defendant moved to continue again in July 2022 (see Dkt. No. 117), October 2022 (see Dkt. No. 149), December 2022 (see Dkt. No. 159), and April 2023 (see Dkt. No. 177). The Court granted each of these requests. (Dkt. Nos. 56, 90, 126, 154, 164, 193.) The Court held oral argument on May 2, 2023, to discuss factual inconsistencies in Defendant's previous motion to continue. (See Dkt. No. 184.) During the oral presentations, Defendant did not address the dubious claims he made regarding the availability of his expert. (See Dkt. No. 192.) Rather, Defendant reiterated arguments that have already been considered by the Court, including his need for additional time to review voluminous discovery along with other complicating factors, including his decision to represent himself and his medical condition. (See generally Dkt. Nos. 154, 164.)
Nonetheless, the Court granted in part Defendant's motion, rescheduling the trial date from May 22, 2023, to June 12, 2023. (Dkt. No. 193.) Now, the Government asks the Court to extend the trial date one week to June 20, 2023, to allow the Government's case agent time to return from an international assignment. (Dkt. No. 194 at 2.) The Defendant does not oppose another continuance. (See Dkt. No. 197 at 2) (“The defendant is in agreement that additional time is needed.”) However, he asks the Court to extend the trial date to September. (Id.)
The Court FINDS that Defendant has been repeatedly warned of the risks of selfrepresentation, has already received adequate time to prepare for trial, and the public's interest in a speedy trial outweigh the Defendant's proffered reasons for a continuance past July. (Id.) Based on these findings, the Court concludes that the ends of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and of Defendant to a speedy trial, as set forth in § 3161(h)(7)(A).
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Government's motion to continue (Dkt. No. 194) and ORDERS as follows:
1. The June 12, 2023 jury trial is CONTINUED until June 20, 2023.
2. The pretrial motions deadline has passed.
3. The period from the date of this order through the new trial date, June 20, 2023, is excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) and (h)(6).