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IN THE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

HAMMOND DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Plaintiff,

v.

JAMES E. SNYDER,

Defendant

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) Case No: 2:16-CR-00160-MFK

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JAMES SNYDER’S AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND SURRENDER DATE

PENDING RESOLUTION OF PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI

JAMES SNYDER, through counsel, with the agreement of the government,

respectfully requests that this Honorable Court extend Mr. Snyder’s surrender date,

currently set for October 16, 2023, due to on-going litigation in the United States

Supreme Court. In support of this Motion, Mr. Snyder, through counsel, states the

following:

(1) This Court continued Mr. Snyder’s bond pending after the denial of his

appeal and motion for rehearing en banc, until October 16, 2023, pending the filing

of his petition for a writ of certiorari.

(2) In view of the significant split in the Circuits on the interpretation of Title

18, United States Code, Section 666, and whether that statute was intended to

cover gratuities in addition to bribes, several firms were willing to offer their

services to assist with Mr. Snyder’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
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(3) Mr. Snyder engaged the firm of Williams & Connolly to prepare his petition

for a writ of certiorari.

(4) To ensure the swift resolution of his petition, Mr. Snyder filed his petition for

certiorari on August 1, 2023, over two months before the deadline to seek Supreme

Court review. See, Dkt. 23-108.]

(5) The American Center for Law and Justice and the National Association of

Criminal Defense Lawyers have both filed briefs as amici curiae in support of Mr.

Snyder’s petition. Id.

(6) The government sought a 30-day extension on its response to Mr. Snyder’s

petition, which is now due on October 5, 2023. The government is seeking a second

extension until November 6, 2023. On the current timetable, the Supreme Court

would ordinarily consider whether to hear Mr. Snyder’s case at its December 8,

2023, conference. A decision denying certiorari could come as soon as the afternoon

of December 8, or the following Monday, December 11, 2023. If the Supreme Court

grants Mr. Snyder’s petition, the case would likely be set for argument in February

or March 2024, with a decision expected by June 2024.

(7) Mr. Snyder requests a new surrender date that is 60 days after the denial of

certiorari.

(8) In the event that the Supreme Court grants Mr. Snyder’s petition, Mr.

Snyder requests a surrender date 60 days from the Court’s denial on the merits, or

that the bond be continued through remand, if the Supreme Court decides in favor
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of Mr. Snyder’s position on the merits, requiring that the conviction be vacated and

that the case remanded for a new trial.

(9) If an extension of the surrender date is not granted, there is a substantial

risk that Mr. Snyder would serve nearly half of the sentence that has been

imposed1, only to have to retry the case if he is successful on the merits, resulting in

time in custody on an invalid conviction, in violation of Mr. Snyder’s liberty interest

under the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

(10) In view of the facts that (1) the government is delaying resolution of Mr.

Snyder’s petition for a writ of certiorari by its requests for extension of time to file

its response, having made clear its intent to respond, and (2) that Mr. Snyder acted

expeditiously, filing his petition two months early, a continuance of his bond

pending appeal is reasonable, protective of his liberty interest, and not for the

purpose of unnecessarily delaying his surrender date.

(11) Mr. Snyder has been on pre-trial release and then bond pending appeal since

2016 [7 years] without incident. There is no indication that delaying his surrender

for the two to eight months it may take to receive a decision from the United States

Supreme Court will cause him to flee or endanger any other person.

WHEREFORE, JAMES SNYDER, through counsel, and with the agreement

of the government, respectfully requests that this Court extend Mr. Snyder’s

1 The Court imposed a sentence of 21 months, of which Mr. Snyder would serve

approximately 17.8 months with the ordinary good time credits applied to the

sentence, and not including 6-12 months of half-way house time.
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surrender date for 60 days after a final decision from the Supreme Court, denying

Mr. Snyder’s petition, either at this stage or on the merits.

DATE: September 13, 2023 Respectfully submitted,

By: s/Andréa E. Gambino

An Attorney for James Snyder
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Law Offices of Andréa E. Gambino

53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1332

Chicago, Illinois 60604

(312) 322-0014

andrea@gambinodefense.com
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on September 13, 2023, I electronically filed the

foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which sent

notification of such filing to the following:

Amarjeet Bhachu, Esq.

Jill R. Koster, Esq..

Assistant United States Attorneys

and I hereby certify that I have mailed by United State Postal Service, or handdelivered the document to the following non-CM/ECF participants: N/A.

DATE: September 13, 2023 Respectfully submitted,

By: s/Andréa E. Gambino

Attorney for James E. Snyder

Law Offices of Andréa E. Gambino

53 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1332

Chicago, Illinois 60604

(312) 322-0014

andrea@gambinodefense.com