Opinion
NO. CR-08-552-RHW.
April 24, 2009
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO CONTINUE PRETRIAL AND TRIAL AND EXCLUDING TIME UNDER SPEEDY TRIAL ACT
A pretrial conference was held in the above-captioned matter on April 16, 2009. Defendant was present and represented by Pedro Castillo; the Government was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Rabbani. Before the Court was Defendant's Motion for Discovery (Ct. Rec. 30). For the reasons set forth at the hearing, the Court denied the motion.
At the hearing, Defendant orally moved for a continuance of the trial in order to investigate and prepare for trial. The Government did not object to a continuance. The Court conducted a colloquy with Defendant regarding his rights under the Speedy Trial Act and Defendant waived those rights.
Good cause being shown, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
1. The jury trial set for May 12, 2009, is stricken. A jury trial is reset for July 14, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., in Los Angeles, California. Counsel will appear in chambers at 8:30 a.m. the first day of trial.
2. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A), the time between May 12, 2009, the current trial date, until July 14, 2009, the new trial date, is declared excludable for purposes of the Speedy Trial Act. The Court finds that the continuance is necessary to allow Defendant time to fully investigate and prepare for trial. Defendant's interest in this investigation and preparation outweighs the interest of the public and Defendant in a speedy trial.
IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Executive is directed to enter this order and to provide copies to counsel.