United States District Court, E.D. Tennessee, Knoxville
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
All
pretrial motions in this case have been referred to the
undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) for
disposition or report and recommendation regarding
disposition by the District Court as may be appropriate. This
case came before the Court on March 19, 2018, for a pretrial
conference and motion hearing on Defendant Brooke
Hensley's Motion to Continue Trial and All Deadlines
[Doc. 80] and Defendant Timmy Byrge's Motion to Adopt
Motion to Continue Trial and All Other Deadlines [Doc. 87].
Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Norris represented
the Government. The following defense counsel also appeared:
Attorney James A.H. Bell for Defendant Mark Bennett; Attorney
Nathaniel Harold Evans for Defendant Justin Collins; Attorney
John Stanford Young, III, for Defendant Brooke Hensley;
Attorney Rachel L. Wolf for Defendant Timmy Byrge; Attorney
Francis L. Lloyd, Jr., for Defendant Debra Ridenour; Attorney
Donny M. Young, who participated by telephone for Defendant
Kelly Lowe; Attorney Theodore Kern for Defendant Keera House;
and Attorney Charles A. Thomas for Defendant Karen Lynch. All
Defendants were present, except for Defendant Ridenour.
Defendant Rosealee Striplin appeared without counsel.
Defendant
Hensley moves to continue the trial and other deadlines to
give her attorney additional time to review the voluminous
discovery, to prepare pretrial motions, and to prepare the
case for trial. The motion states that counsel, who joined
the case on February 15, 2018, received discovery on February
23, 2018, and has since received supplemental discovery,
which he has yet to review. The motion relates that discovery
consists of audio and video recordings in addition to
documents and photographs. Defendant Byrge asks to join in
this motion.
At the
motion hearing, Attorney Young stated that he had twice
received supplemental discovery, which he was still
reviewing. He said that Defendant Hensley waives her speedy
trial rights in connection with the motion. All other defense
counsel stated that they did not object to the requested
continuance.[1] Attorney Bell said that he had recently
filed a Motion to Adopt Motions of Co-defendant Brooke
Hensley [Doc. 89], asking to join in the motion to continue
the trial and all other deadlines. Additionally, Mr. Bell
stated that Mr. Donald Samuel, who also represents Defendant
Bennett, is not available for the current March 27 trial
date, because he is presently in trial on a murder case in
Atlanta, Georgia, until the end of March. AUSA Norris
informed the Court that the Government did not oppose the
motion to continue the trial and other deadlines.
The
Court finds Defendant Hensley's motion to continue the
trial and the motions of Defendants Byrge and Bennett to join
in that motion to be unopposed and well-taken. The Court also
finds that the ends of justice served by granting a
continuance outweigh the interest of the Defendants and the
public in a speedy trial. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A). The
Indictment [Doc. 6] in this case charges the nine Defendants
with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to
distribute methamphetamine and to launder the proceeds
therefrom over a one-year period. Defendant Hensley is also
charged with a single count of money laundering. Defense
counsel state that the discovery in this case is voluminous,
and the Govenrment has recently supplemented the discovery.
The Court finds that defense counsel need time to review the
voluminous discovery, to consult with their clients, to
investigate the case, to locate and interview witnesses, and
to research and prepare pretrial motions. Once any pretrial
motions are litigated, counsel will need time to prepare the
case for trial. Given defense counsels' recent receipt of
discovery, the Court finds that counsel cannot be prepared
for trial on March 27 or in less than seven months. Thus,
without a continuance, defense counsel would not have the
reasonable time necessary to prepare for trial despite their
use of due diligence. See 18 U.S.C. §
3161(h)(7)(B)(iv).
The
motion to continue the trial [Doc. 80] and the motions to
join [Docs. 87 & 89] in that motion are GRANTED. The
trial is reset to November 13, 2018. The Court also finds
that all the time between the filing of Defendant
Hensley's motion on February 27, 2018, and the new trial
date of November 13, 2018, is fully excludable time under the
Speedy Trial Act for the reasons set forth herein.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(D) and -(7)(A)-(B).
With regard to additional scheduling in this case, the Court
extends the deadline for filing pretrial motions to May 25,
2018. Responses to motions are due on or before June 8, 2018.
The deadline for concluding plea negotiations and for
providing reciprocal discovery is extended to September 28,
2018. A final pretrial conference before the undersigned is
set for October 30, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. The Court instructs
the parties that all motions in limine must be filed
no later than October 29, 2018. Special requests for jury
instructions shall be submitted to the Chief District Judge
no later than November 2, 2018, and shall be supported by
citations to authority pursuant to Local Rule 7.4.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
(1) Defendant Hensley's Motion to Continue Trial and All
Deadlines [Doc. 80] is GRANTED. Defendant Byrge's and
Defendant Bennett's motions to join [Docs. 87 & 89]
in this motion are also GRANTED;
(2) The trial of this matter is reset to commence on November
13, 2018, at 9:00 a.m., before the Honorable Thomas A.
Varlan, Chief United States District Judge;
(3) All time between the filing of Defendant Hensley's
motion on February 27, 2018, and the new trial date of
November 13, 2018, is fully excludable time under the Speedy
Trial Act for the reasons set forth herein;
(4) The deadline for filing pretrial motions is extended to
May 25, 2018;
(5) Responses to motions are due on or before June 8, 2018;
(6) The deadline for concluding plea negotiations and
providing reciprocal discovery September 28, 2018;
(7) Motions in limine must be filed no later than
October 29, 2018;
(8) The parties are to appear before the undersigned for a
final pretrial conference on October 30, 2018, at 1:30 p.m.;
and
(9) Special requests for jury instructions with appropriate
citations shall be submitted to the Chief District Judge ...