STIPULATION AND ORDER TO CONTINUE STATUS HEARING

SHEILA K. OBERTO, Magistrate Judge.

The parties by and through their counsel of record, hereby stipulate to the following: The parties have jointly agreed that the current status hearing date of Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. be continued to Monday, April 29, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. The reason for this continuance is that the defense counsel is still reviewing the voluminous discovery and needs additional time to complete the review for a meaningful conference with the prosecution.

Therefore, the parties hereby stipulate that time should be excluded under the Speedy Trial Act from February 19, 2019 to April 29, 2019, for effective preparation and continuity of counsel. The parties further stipulate that the ends of justice served by granting the request outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.

For the above reasons, the parties respectfully request a continuance of the matter to February 14, 2019.

The parties' request for a continuance is DENIED. This case has been pending since May 2018. At the status conference on October 29, 2018, the Court set a further status conference on February 19, 2019, and asked the parties to be prepared to set the case for trial at the next status conference.

The Court understands the need for the defense to review discovery and conduct additional investigation so the parties may properly evaluate the case. This does not, however, preclude the setting of a trial date. The Court will accommodate the parties' request for a trial date that provides them sufficient time to conduct further investigations and engage in plea negotiations.

IT IS SO ORDERED.