Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-almd-2_15-cr-00202/USCOURTS-almd-2_15-cr-00202-4/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Kenneth Lamar Henderson
Defendant
USA
Plaintiff

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR

THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

NORTHERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )

)

v. ) 2:15cr202-MHT

) WO

KENNETH LAMAR HENDERSON )

ORDER ON ARRAIGNMENT

On February 18, 2016, the defendant, KENNETH LAMAR HENDERSON,

appeared in person and in open court with counsel, Cecilia Vaca, and was arraigned in

accordance with the provisions of Rule 10 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

PLEA. The defendant entered a plea of NOT GUILTY. Counsel for the defendant

is requested to contact the U. S. Attorney immediately if the defendant intends to engage

in plea negotiations. If the defendant decides to change this plea, the parties shall file a

notice of intent to plead guilty or otherwise notify the clerk’s office at or before the

pretrial conference and then this action will be set on a plea docket.

PRELIMINARY SENTENCING GUIDELINES INFORMATION. The court

no longer requires the United States Probation Office to provide preliminary sentencing

guideline information to defendants. However, in difficult or complex cases defendants

may request the United States Probation Office to provide Sentencing Guideline

calculation assistance with the understanding that any estimate is tentative only and is not

binding on the United States Probation Office, the parties or the court. The court expects

that requests for Sentencing Guideline calculation assistance shall be the exception and

that defendants will not make such requests a matter of routine. A request for Sentencing

Guideline calculation assistance shall be made in writing to the supervisor of the

Presentence Investigation Unit of the United States Probation Office not later than 10

days from the date of this order. The calculation shall be completed not later than one

week before the pretrial conference.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. An initial pretrial conference is hereby set for

March 3, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Susan Russ

Walker in Courtroom 5-B, Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Federal Building and United States

Courthouse Complex, One Church Street, Montgomery, Alabama. Not later than three

days prior to the date of the pretrial conference, counsel shall confer about the issues

and matters to be discussed at the pretrial conference as set forth in this order.

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Counsel who want in-custody defendants to attend must notify the Magistrate Judge

within three days of the conference date so that an order to produce can be issued to the

United States Marshal. 

At the pretrial conference, defense counsel and counsel for the government shall

be fully prepared to discuss all pending motions, the status of discovery, possible

stipulations, and the estimated length of the trial. Defense counsel and counsel for the

government shall be fully prepared to provide a definite commitment as to the final

disposition of this case – by trial, plea or other non-trial disposition. If resolution of a

dispositive motion will affect the nature of this commitment, counsel must be fully

prepared to discuss this type of resolution. If the case is for plea, the notice of intent to

enter a plea should be filed at the time of the pretrial conference. If counsel require

additional time for plea negotiations, counsel should be prepared to inform the court

about the date when those negotiations will be completed.

TRIAL. At arraignment, the parties agreed that due to the nature of this case, the

need for adequate time for discovery and the need for counsel to have adequate time for

trial preparation, the case should be set for trial before United States District Judge

Myron H. Thompson on the trial term beginning on May 2, 2016 in Montgomery,

Alabama at 10:00 a.m., unless otherwise ordered by the court.

In setting this case for trial on the term indicated above, the court recognizes that

the Speedy Trial Act places limits on the court’s discretion, and that under the act, the

trial of a defendant must commence within 70 days of the date of the indictment or the

date of the defendant’s first appearance before a judicial officer, whichever is later. 18

U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1). In determining whether a case should be set after the expiration of

the 70 day period, a court must consider among other factors “[w]hether the failure to [set

the case at a later date] ... would be likely to ... result in a miscarriage of justice.” 18

U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(I). The court also must consider “whether the failure to grant such

a continuance ... would deny counsel for the defendant or the attorney for the government

the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise

of due diligence.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv). Based on the nature of this case, the

parties’ need for adequate time for discovery and the need for counsel to have adequate

time for trial preparation, the court finds that the ends of justice served by setting this case

on this trial term outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy

trial.

PRETRIAL MOTIONS. All pretrial motions under Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(b) and

(d), 14 and 16; all notices under Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3; and any motion to

compel pursuant to M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1 Criminal Discovery (a copy of this Rule may

be found at http://www.almd.uscourts.gov/docs/lorules.pdf.) must be filed no later than

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Case 2:15-cr-00202-SRW Document 39 Filed 02/19/16 Page 2 of 4
TWO DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST PRETRIAL CONFERENCE HELD IN THIS

CASE, except that if the pretrial conference falls on Monday, the deadline for filing

pretrial motions is always the preceding Wednesday. No motion filed after this date

will be considered unless filed with leave of court. A continuance of the pretrial

conference or trial does not extend the motions deadline. THE CONFERENCING

REQUIREMENT SET FORTH IN M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1(C) CRIMINAL

DISCOVERY SHALL BE MET BEFORE THE COURT WILL CONSIDER ANY

DISCOVERY MOTION. THE COURT WILL DENY MOTIONS TO ADOPT

MOTIONS FILED BY OTHER DEFENDANTS.

Motions to suppress must allege specific facts which, if proven, would provide a

basis of relief. This Court will summarily dismiss suppression motions which are

supported only by general conclusory assertions founded on mere suspicion or conjecture.

All grounds upon which the defendant relies must be specifically stated in the

motion in separately numbered paragraphs in a section of the motion which is

labeled “Issues Presented.” Grounds not stated in the “Issues Presented” section of

the motion will be deemed to have been waived. See generally United States v.

Richardson, 764F.2d 1514, 1526-27 (11 Cir. 1985). th

The government shall file a response to all motions filed by the defendant on or

before five days prior to the date set for a hearing on the motion or, if no hearing is

necessary, on or before ten days after the date of the pretrial conference.

DISCOVERY. All discovery in this action shall be conducted according to the

requirements of M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1 Criminal Discovery. Unless the government

provided initial disclosures to the defendant prior to or at arraignment, the government is

ORDERED to tender initial disclosure to the defendant on or before February 18, 2016. 

Disclosures by the defendant, as required by M.D. Ala. LCrR 16.1(a)(4) shall be

provided on or before February 25, 2016.

JENCKS ACT STATEMENTS. The government agrees to provide defense

counsel with all Jencks Act statements no later than the day scheduled for the

commencement of the trial.1

MANDATORY APPEARANCE OF COUNSEL. Counsel of record for all

parties are ORDERED to appear at all future court proceedings in this criminal case.

Those attorneys who find it impossible to attend (especially at the pretrial conference,

jury selection, or trial) must make arrangements to have substitute counsel appear on

behalf of their clients. Any attorney who appears as substitute counsel for a defendant

1

In certain complex cases, the government may agree to earlier production.

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Case 2:15-cr-00202-SRW Document 39 Filed 02/19/16 Page 3 of 4
shall have full authorization from the defendant to act on his or her behalf and be fully

prepared to proceed. Substitute counsel shall not be counsel for a co-defendant unless

permitted by the court after proper motion. Any counsel who wishes to have substitute

counsel appear must obtain permission of the court in advance.

NOTE: Except in extraordinary circumstances or circumstances in which the

Constitution would require it, the court will not entertain motions to withdraw filed

by counsel who appear at arraignment unless the motions are filed within seven days

of the date of this order. Failure to obtain fees from a client is not an extraordinary

circumstance.

Done, this 19 day of February, 2016. th

/s/ Susan Russ Walker 

SUSAN RUSS WALKER

CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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