MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge.
IT IS HEREBY stipulated between the United States of America through its undersigned counsel, Michael McCoy, Assistant United States Attorney and Howard J. Shopenn, attorney for defendant Andres Guzman, that the status conference presently set for December 4, 2014, be continued to February 19, 2015 at 9:00 a.m., thus vacating the presently set status conference.
Counsel for defendant needs additional time to discuss potential resolutions with his client, prepare pretrial motions, and/or otherwise prepare for trial. Counsel for defendant believes that failure to grant the above-requested continuance would deny him the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence.
The government does not object to the continuance.
Therefore, counsel for the parties stipulate and agree that the interest of justice served by granting this continuance outweighs the best interest of the defendants and the public in a speedy trial. 18 U.S.C. 3161(h)(7)(A) (continuity of counsel/reasonable time for effective preparation) and Local Code T4, and agree to exclude time from the date of the filing of the order until the date of the status conference, February 19, 2015.
The Court, having received, and considered the stipulation of the parties, and good cause appearing, adopts the stipulation of the parties in its entirety as its order. Based on the stipulation of the parties and the recitation of facts contained therein, the Court finds that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings and trial itself within the time limits established in 18 U.S.C. §3161.
In addition, the Court specifically 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 finds that the end of justice to be served by granting the requested continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendants in a speedy trial.
The Court orders that the time from the date of the parties' stipulation, December 4, 2014, to and including February 19, 2015, shall be excluded from computation of time within which the trial of this case must be commenced under the Speedy Trial Act, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3161(h)(7)(A) and (B)(ii) and (iv), and Local Codes T4 (reasonable time for defense counsel to prepare). It is further ordered that the December 4, 2014, status conference shall be continued to February 19, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.