Opinion ID: 3161987
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: September 2013 Status Conference

Text: On September 9, 2013, the district court conducted a status conference, in which Steinger spoke at length about his health and requested a continuance. He stated that his medical condition had changed rapidly over the intervening months and he could not stand the pain any longer. He was past taking morphine and now required heavier drugs, which still did not give him relief. Steinger described himself as “a walking dope man” and said that he did not “even know what’s going 6 Case: 14-14081 Date Filed: 12/11/2015 Page: 7 of 16 on half the time.” Steinger’s counsel also stated that Steinger was preoccupied by his health during attorney-client interviews. Counsel requested a continuance because Steinger had a surgical consult scheduled at UMH and the surgery could alleviate Steinger’s pain. The district court severed Steinger’s case from his coconspirators’ cases and ordered a continuance.