STIPULATION AND ORDER TO EXTEND TIME FOR STATUS CONFERENCE AND EXCLUDE TIME

JOHN A. MENDEZ, District Judge.

Defendant RAY RAMIREZ, by and through his counsel, DENNIS S. WAKS, Supervising Assistant Federal Defender, and the United States Government, by and through its counsel, JILL M. THOMAS, Assistant United States Attorney, hereby stipulate that the status conference set for December 11, 2012, be rescheduled for a status conference/change of plea on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, at 9:45 a.m..

This continuance is being requested because defense counsel requires additional time to receive and review discovery, discuss the case with the government, and pursue investigation. Furthermore, this defendant has some serious medical conditions which effect his ability to assist counsel at the present time.

Mr. Ramirez, if convicted, potentially faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life. This defendant is a 51 year old male with significant medical and psychological problems. At least three times per week, Mr. Ramirez spends 5 hours a session on a kidney dialysis machine. He has a history of multiple strokes in the past, has chronic diabetes, is in the early to middle stages of dementia, and has a history of heavy alcohol and drug abuse.

Mr. Ramirez has exhibited significant memory impairment and he performed "very poorly" in psychological testing compared to other people his age (4 percentile). Unfortunately, these medical conditions and the accompanying mental problems effect his ability to remember details of his case and to assist counsel.

Mr. Ramirez was incarcerated at Sacramento County Jail on this case for over 18 months. He was released from jail in December, 2011 and has been successful on pre-trial release for approximately 12 months under the supervision of Pretrial Services.

In light of the above, including the substantial sentence if convicted, counsel needs more time to talk to Mr. Ramirez and to work on his case. Though counsel for the defendant is attempting to wind down his case load before his retirement at the end of the year, because of the complicated nature of this case, I anticipate keeping this case after retirement. Counsel for the defendant is seeking an updated psychological evaluation and will attempt to get it before the next status conference. Depending upon these results and after a meeting with the government, we would hope to reach a negotiated disposition by the next court date.

Speedy trial time is to be excluded from the date of this order through the date of the status conference set for February 12, 2013, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3161(h)(7)(B)(iv) and Local Code T4. [reasonable time to prepare].

The Court finds that the ends of justice to be served by granting a continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.

Respectfully Submitted,

ORDER

Based on the stipulation of the parties and good cause appearing therefrom, the Court hereby finds that the failure to grant a continuance in this case would deny defense counsel reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence. The Court specifically finds that the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. Based on these findings and pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, the Court hereby adopts the stipulation of the parties in its entirety as its Order. Time is excluded from computation of time within which the trial of this matter must be commenced beginning from the date of the stipulation, December 6, 2012, through and including February 12, 2013, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161(h)(7)(A) and (B)(iv) [reasonable time for defense counsel to prepare] and Local Code T4. A new status conference date is hereby set for February 12, 2013, at 9:45 a.m..