MOTION TO CONTINUE DISCOVERY DEADLINES

RICHARD F. BOULWARE, District Judge.

The United States, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby files this Motion to Continue Discovery Deadlines seeking a thirty day continuance of the government's Rule 16 deadline, the defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline, the parties' expert disclosure deadline and the pretrial motions deadlines.

On August 23, 2019, this Court held a status conference and set various deadlines for discovery and other Rule 16 disclosures, providing that the government's Rule 16 discovery deadline would be set for January 10, 2020, the defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline would be February 10, 2020, and the expert disclosure deadline would be February 10, 2020. ECF No. 87. The Court further set the deadline for pretrial dispositive motions for March 2, 2020, with responses due March 30, 2020. Id. The Court also continued the trial date to June 8, 2020 in this case. Id.

Since the August hearing, the government produced Rule 16 discovery, returned all property required to be returned according to the deadlines set forth by the Court and has continued to review and attempt to identify electronic items it may seek to use in its case in chief at trial.

The government now moves for a thirty-day continuance of the government's Rule 16 discovery deadline, the defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline, the expert disclosures deadline and the pretrial motions and responses deadlines due to the imminent departure from the US Attorney's Office of undersigned counsel. The case is being transitioned to other government counsel and thus the government seeks this continuance to allow the attorneys that will be prosecuting the case an opportunity to assess for themselves the evidence to be disclosed and used at trial and the ability to identify experts of their choosing. In the interest of fairness, the government thus also seeks to continue the defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline and pretrial motions and responses deadlines accordingly.

The government met and conferred with counsel for the defendants prior to filing this motion. Counsel for defendants Igbinovia, Olson and Smith agreed to file a joint stipulation continuing all pending dates, including the trial date, for thirty days. In addition to the government's basis for seeking the continuance, counsel for Olson has been in trial in United States v Palafox, 2:16-cr-00265-GMN-NJK for the past several months and it is not anticipated that the case will be submitted to the jury before the end of January 2020. Counsel for Hall advised today that Hall did not stipulate to the continuance. Accordingly, the government filed the instant motion.1

Given that all defendants remain at liberty on pretrial release, that the currently scheduled trial date is several months away, and the need for both the government and at least some defendants to have additional time to meet the January and February deadlines, the government requests that the Court grant this motion. The motion is brought in good faith and not for purposes of delay.

WHEREFORE the government respectfully requests that the Court grant the motion to continue and continue the government's Rule 16 discovery deadline, currently set for January 10, 2020 to February 10, 2020, continue the defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline from February 10, 2020 to March 10, 2020, and continue the expert disclosure deadline to March 10, 2020. The government further requests that the Court continue the pretrial motions deadline to April 2, 2020, and responses thereto to April 30, 2020.

Based on the Motion to Continue filed by the government, and good cause appearing therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that

The government's Rule 16 discovery deadline currently set for January 10, 2020, is vacated and continued to February 10, 2020.

The deadline for expert disclosures currently set for February 10, 2020, is vacated and continued to March 10, 2020.

The Defendants' reciprocal discovery deadline currently set for February 10, 2020, is vacated and continued to March 10, 2020.

Pretrial dispositive motions deadline currently set for March 2, 2020, be continued to April 2, 2020, with responses due April 30, 2020.

IT IS SO ORDERED.