Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-almd-2_11-cr-00056/USCOURTS-almd-2_11-cr-00056-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Lacarla Nicole Drayton
Defendant
USA
Plaintiff

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR

THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

NORTHERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )

)

v. ) CR NO. 2:11CR56-WHA

)

LACARLA NICOLE DRAYTON )

AMENDED ORDER ON ARRAIGNMENT

On December 29, 2010, the defendant, Lacarla Nicole Drayton, appeared in person and

in open court with counsel, James Lawley, 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 to the United States Probation Office not later than 10 days from the date of this order.

PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. An initial pretrial conference is hereby set for April 18,

2011 at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom 4A, United States Courthouse Complex, One Church Street,

Montgomery, Alabama. Not later than three (3) 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. 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. The 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

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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 W. Harold

Albritton, on the trial term beginning on June 20, 2011, at the United States District

Courthouse in Montgomery, AL, 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(h)(7). 

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). 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)(1). 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 this court' standing order on discovery must be filed no later than 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. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the continuance of the trial of a case will

not extend the time for filing pretrial motions. THE CONFERENCING REQUIREMENT

SET FORTH IN THE STANDING ORDER ON CRIMINAL DISCOVERY SHALL BE

MET BEFORE THE COURT WILL CONSIDER ANY DISCOVERY MOTION. THE

COURT WILL NOT GRANT 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 or 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

2

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

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 (10) days after the date of the pretrial conference.

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

requirements of this court's Standing Order on Criminal Discovery. A copy of the standing order

is attached and also may be found at http://www.almd.uscourts.gov. Unless the government

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

ORDERED to tender initial disclosures to the defendant on or before March 30, 2011.

Disclosures by the defendant, as required by ¶ 4 of the Standing Order on Criminal Discovery

shall be provided on or before April 5, 2011.

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 be in attendance (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 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 6 day of April, 2011. th

/s/ Susan Russ Walker 

SUSAN RUSS WALKER

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

1

3

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CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

CR. MISC. #534

STANDING ORDER ON CRIMINAL DISCOVERY

 It is the court's policy to rely on the standard discovery procedure as set forth in this Order as

the sole means of the exchange of discovery in criminal cases except in extraordinary

circumstances. This Order is intended to promote the efficient exchange of discovery without

altering the rights and obligations of the parties, but at the same time eliminating the practice of

routinely filing perfunctory and duplicative discovery motions.

INITIAL DISCLOSURES:

(1) Disclosure by the Government. At arraignment, or on a date otherwise set by the court for

good cause shown, the government shall tender to defendant the following:

(A) Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a) Information. All discoverable information within the scope of Rule

16(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

(B) Brady Material. All information and material known to the government which may be

favorable to the defendant on the issues of guilt or punishment, without regard to materiality,

within the scope of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963).

(C) Giglio Material. The existence and substance of any payments, promises of immunity,

leniency, preferential treatment, or other inducements made to prospective witnesses, within the

scope of United States v. Giglio, 405 U.S. 150 (1972).

(D) Testifying informant's convictions. A record of prior convictions of any alleged informant

who will testify for the government at trial.

(E) Defendant's identification. If a line-up, show-up, photo spread or similar, procedure was used

in attempting to identify the defendant, the exact procedure and participants shall be described

and the results, together with any pictures, and photographs, shall be disclosed.

(F) Inspection of vehicles, vessels, or aircraft. If any vehicle, vessel, or aircraft, was allegedly

utilized in the commission of any offenses charged, the government shall permit the defendant's

counsel and any expert selected by the defense to inspect it, if it is in the custody of any

governmental authority.

(G) Defendant's latent prints. If latent fingerprints, or prints of any type, have been, identified by

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a government expert as those of the defendant, copies thereof shall be provided.

(H) Fed. R. Evid.404(b). The government shall advise the defendant of its intention to introduce

evidence in its case in chief at trial, pursuant to Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence.

(I) Electronic Surveillance Information. If the defendant was an aggrieved person as defined in

18 U.S.C. § 2510(11), the government shall so advise the defendant and set forth the detailed

circumstances thereof.

(2) Obligations of the Government.

(A) The government shall anticipate the need for, and arrange for the transcription of the grand

jury testimony of all witnesses who will testify in the government's case in chief, if subject to

Fed. R. Crim. P. 26.2 and 18 U.S.C. ' 3500. Jencks Act materials and witnesses' statements shall

be provided as required by Fed. R. CRIM. P. 26.2 and 18 U.S.C. ' 3500. However, the

government, and where applicable, the defendant, are requested to make such materials and

statements available to the other party sufficiently in advance as

to avoid any delays or interruptions at trial. The court suggests an early disclosure of Jencks Act

materials.,

(B) The government shall advise all government agents and officers involved in the case to

preserve all rough notes.

(C) The identification and production of all discoverable evidence or information is the personal

responsibility of the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the case and may not be

delegated without the express permission of the court.

(3) Disclosures to U.S. Probation. At arraignment, or on a date otherwise designated by the court

upon good cause shown, the government shall tender to the U.S. Probation Office all essential

information needed by U.S. Probation to accurately calculate the sentencing guideline range for

the defendant, including, but not limited to, information regarding the nature of the offense

(offense level), the nature of the victim and the injury sustained by the victim, defendant's role in

the offense, whether defendant obstructed justice in the commission of the crime, defendant's

criminal history, and any information

regarding defendant's status as a career offender/armed career criminal. In addition, in order to

comply with the requirements of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the government shall produce to the

U.S. Probation Office information regarding the victims of defendant's alleged criminal activity,

including, but not limited to, the identity of the victim by name, address, and phone number, and

the nature and extent of the victim's loss or injury.

(4) Disclosures by the Defendant. If defendant accepts or requests disclosure of discoverable

information pursuant to Fed. R. CRIM. P. 16(a)(1)(C), (D), or (E), defendant, on or before a date

set by the court, shall provide to the government all discoverable information within the scope of

Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b).

SUPPLEMENTATION. The provisions of Fed. R. CRIM. P. 16(c) are applicable. It shall be the

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duty of counsel for all parties to immediately reveal to opposing counsel all newly discovered

information, evidence, or other material within the scope of this Rule, and there is a continuing

duty upon each attorney to disclose expeditiously.

MOTIONS FOR DISCOVERY. No attorney shall file a discovery motion without first

conferring with opposing counsel, and no motion will be considered by the court unless it is

accompanied by a certification of such conference and a statement of the moving party's good

faith efforts to resolve the subject matter of the motion by agreement with opposing counsel. No

discovery motions shall be filed for information or material within the scope of this Rule unless it

is a motion to compel, a motion for protective order or a

motion for an order modifying discovery. See Fed. R. CRIM. P. 16(d). Discovery requests made

pursuant to Fed. R. CRIM. P. 16 and this Order require no action on the part of this court and

shall not be filed with the court, unless the party making the request desires to preserve the

discovery matter for appeal.

Done this 4th day of February, 1999.

/s/ W. Harold Albritton 

CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

/s/ Myron H. Thompson 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

/s/ Ira De Ment 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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