labor that has occurred thus far, if one attorney is required to proceed with the defense of either

defendant, it seems delay and increased attomeys’ fees would be the likely result. Thus, to

ensure adequate representation of defendants Carmen and Avila, and to avoid disrupting the

proceedings, it is hereby ordered that the appointments of all four counsel shall continue as

before. For the rcasons stated above, defendants” motions are granted.

SO ORDERED.

AS?) 7,

ENTERED: “a

Mod BE Lovey pita

HON. RONALD A. GUZMApl
United States Judge



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me

Minute Coder Fosen (06/97)

United States District Court, Northern District of Mlinois

teeetne | Ronald. Guzman | Se

CASE NUMBER 02 CR 464 - 1,8 DATE 5/7/2004
CASE USA vs, RICHARD CARMEN and OMAR AVILA
TITLE

[In the following box (a) indicate the party filing the motion, e.g,, plaintiff, detendant, 3rd party plaintiff, and (b) state briefly the nature

MOTION: of the motion being presented. |

DOCKET ENTRY:

qy oO Filed motion of [ use listing in “Motion” box above.]

(2) a Brief in support of motion due

(3) Oo Answer brief to motion duc. __. Reply to answer briefdue__

(4) QO Ruling/Hearingon set for_— se at__

(3) Oo Status hearing[held/continucd to] (set for/re-sct for}on___—ssetfor__ at,

(6) a Pretrial conference{held/continued to] [set for/re-set for)on ss setfor_—at_

(7) Oo Trial[set for/re-set for}on_ at.

(8) a (Bench/Jury trial] [Hearing] held/continued to at

(9) im This case is dismissed [with/without] prejudice and without costs[by/agreement/pursuant to]

CFRCP4(m) CG Local Rule 41.1 CIFRCP41(a)(1}) O FRCP41](a)(2)

(10) [Other docket entry] Defendants’ motions for continued appointment of two attorneys is granted and
al four counsel shall continue as before. ENTER MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Lage-T]

qi) @ [For further detail sec order attached to the original minute ordet.]
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES, )
Plaintiff, } 02 CR 464-1, 8
v, } Judge Ronald A, Guzman
RICHARD CARMEN and }
OMAR AVILA, )
Defendants,

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Before the Court are Richard Carmen and Omar Avila’s motions for continued
appointment of two attorneys. The matter was discussed at a March 2, 2004 status hearing.
Counsel for Richard Carmen and Omar Avila argued for continued appointment of two attorneys
at the hearing, Counsel for Carmen also filed a written motion, while counsel for Avila opted to
stand on their oral argument. The government has voiced no oral or written objection to the
continued appointment of two attorneys for each defendant.

At the beginning of this case, the Court appointed two attomeys to represent each death
eligible defendant, namely Richard Carmen, Omar Avila, and Daniel Perez, as required by 18
U.S.C, § 3005.’ The government has since decided not to seek the death penalty, thus under

patagraph 6.02(B)(2) of the CJA Guidelines, the Court may consider whether the continued

' Counsel for Daniel Perez has indicated that he intends to plead guilty. Further, counsel
voiced no objection when the Court raised the issue of whether continued appointment of two
attorneys was necessary. Therefore, one of Perez’ attorneys was previously terminated by
separate order.


appointment of two attomeys for each death cligible defendant is necessary.

Counsel for Carmen and counsel for Avila have argued in favor of the continued
appointment of two attorneys due to the division of labor to date, the complexity of the case, the
vast amount of evidence, and the gravity of the charges. This case involves eleven defendants,
all but three of whom are charged with participating in a RICO conspiracy spanning nearly 8
years. Defendants collectively are charged with, among other things, committing twelve
kidnapings to obtain drugs and/or money, several of which involved brutal acts of torture and one
of which ended in murder. Richard Carmen is the alleged ringleader and is named in 24 counts
of the 29-count indictment. Omar Avila is named in five counts. Both Carmen and Avila
allegedly took part in the murder and are facing a potential life sentence. It is worth noting that
other individuals were previously tried and convicted of the same murder and were later
exonerated. Counsel for Carmen expects that the trial will involve dozens of witnesses and will
last at least a month.

Counsel for each defendant have indicated that to manage the vast amount of evidence in
this case, they divided the workload at the beginning, Therefore, if one attorney is to handle the
defense from here forward, he would be required to get up to speed, which would likely result in
some delays and a significant amount of billing for work that has already been donc. Further,
counsel have indicated that due to the complex factual and legal issues involved, this case is just
too much for one attorney to handle.

The Court is convinced that due to the number of alleged crimes charged, the vast amount
of evidence to be considered, and the anticipated length of the trial, continued appointment of

two attomeys on behalf of both Carmen and Avila is warranted. Further, given the division of