Opinion
Edward W. Swanson, Britt Evangelist, SWANSON & McNAMARA LLP, Michele Beckwith, Assistant U.S. Attorney, San Francisco, California, Attorneys for AKBAR BHAMANI.
STIPULATION AND ORDER TO CONTINUE SELF-SURRENDER DATE FROM SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 TO NOVEMBER 10, 2015
TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.
STIPULATION
On June 11, this Court sentenced Mr. Akbar Bhamani to a term of 97 months imprisonment, followed by a term of supervised release. At sentencing, the Court set a self-surrender date of September 11, 2015, for Mr. Bhamani to report to the Bureau of Prisons. Since Mr. Bhamani's sentencing, he has been abiding by the terms of his pre-sentence release without incident.
Defense counsel now seeks an extension of Mr. Bhamani's self-surrender date to November 10, 2015. Defense counsel seeks this extension for two reasons. First, the Court has set a restitution hearing in Mr. Bhamani's case for September 3, 2011. However, the parties recently filed a stipulation and proposed order to continue that hearing to September 24, 2015 in order to allow the parties time to meet and confer regarding the appropriate restitution amount in this case. Defense counsel requires Mr. Bhamani's assistance in evaluating issues regarding restitution and will require his consent to enter into any negotiated settlement. Thus, defense counsel submits that having Mr. Bhamani out of custody during this time may facilitate a negotiated settlement of the restitution issue and thus obviate the need for a restitution hearing altogether.
Second, Mr. Bhamani has been designated by the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") to Big Springs CI in Texas. Defense counsel understands that Mr. Bhamani has been designated to this facility because it is the closest low-security prison that has an imbedded ICE hearing program. Mr. Bhamani has engaged immigration counsel in Texas to secure a commitment from immigration officials that they will not seek to deport Mr. Bhamani. If that commitment is given, BOP may be willing to re-designate Mr. Bhamani to a facility closer to his family and home in Sacramento. ICE has not made a decision about whether or not they will bring deportation proceedings, but Mr. Bhamani's immigration counsel is currently engaged in substantive conversations with ICE on that issue, and ICE is considering his request to not issue a detainer. Mr. Bhamani's immigration counsel estimates that the requested extension will allow a sufficient amount of time to bring his conversations with ICE to a close.
In order to allow Mr. Bhamani to participate in the negotiations and proceedings regarding restitution, and in order to allow Mr. Bhamani sufficient time to complete negotiations with ICE and explore re-designation by BOP, the defense is requesting that the self-surrender date be continued to November 10, 2015. The government does not oppose the request.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
ORDER GRANTING EXTENSION
The Court has reviewed the Stipulation of the parties to extend Mr. Bhamani's self-surrender date to November 10, 2015. Based on such documentation, the Court finds good cause to extend Mr. Bhamani's self-surrender date to November 10, 2015.
PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED