Opinion ID: 612988
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Continuances.The August 22, 2005 and September 2, 2005 orders

Text: O'Connor first challenges two continuances granted early on in the case, on August 22 and September 2, 2005. On August 22 a magistrate judge continued the case to September 2 for preparation of pretrial motions and excluded this delay from the speedy-trial clock. This exclusion was proper under circuit precedent then in effect. In Tibboel, 753 F.2d at 610, we held that delays resulting from the preparation of pretrial motions fall within the ambit of § 3161(h)(1)(D), the provision authorizing the automatic exclusion of delay resulting from any pretrial motion. But the Supreme Court held otherwise in Bloate. The pretrial-motion provision specifically permits the court to exclude delay resulting from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion.  18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(D) (emphasis added). Bloate held that delays resulting from the preparation of pretrial motions are not covered by this provision, which automatically excludes delays from filing through disposition of motions. 130 S.Ct. at 1353. The Court held that delays attributable to the preparation of pretrial motions may be excluded under the ends-of-justice provision, but continuances granted for this purpose must be supported by case-specific findings that the benefits outweigh the costs, as required by § 3161(h)(7). Id. at 1352; see also Zedner, 547 U.S. at 506-07, 126 S.Ct. 1976 (To justify an ends-of-justice continuance, the court must enter the statutorily required findings on the record orally or in writing.). Here, the magistrate judge did not make the findings Bloate requires prior to entering the August 22 exclusion; the exclusion of the 11 days from August 22 to September 2 was therefore error. Assuming this error was plain, however, reversal is unwarranted. Adding 11 days to the speedy-trial clock puts the total at 53 days, still well short of the 70-day limit. Similarly, on September 2 the district court held a status conference with counsel and continued the case to October 28. In a follow-up minute entry, the court noted that this time was excluded for motions, trial preparations and plea negotiations, and cited the ends-of-justice provision. The minute entry by itself is brief and does not contain the required statutory findings, but § 3161(h)(7) permits the court to make an oral record of the reasons for the exclusion, so we may look to the transcript of the status conference. Zedner, 547 U.S. at 506-07, 126 S.Ct. 1976; Napadow, 596 F.3d at 405-06. There we find a sufficient explanation of the court's reasons for granting this continuance. At the September 2 hearing, one of the defense attorneys noted that he received four very big boxes of discovery and needed a lot more time than the [c]ourt had allowed for discovery motions[,]... maybe another 60 days just to get through discovery to figure out what motions [to file]. Another defense lawyer noted that [t]he Bates numbers [in the discovery documents] run higher than 10,000. The sheer volume of the discovery reflects the complexity of the case, which involved more than 30 separate fraudulent transactions. At the conclusion of the hearing, based on this colloquy with counsel, the judge granted a continuance to October 28 and excluded this time to allow for motions, preparation, and any plea negotiations. The discussion among counsel and the court reflects the judge's conclusion that this delay was necessary to give the defense lawyers time to understand the government's case, analyze the evidence, and decide what motions might be appropriate and whether their clients' best course was to plead guilty or go to trial. It is precisely for cases like this one that the ends-of-justice provision exists; it offers district judges the flexibility needed to effectively manage complex litigation. See Zedner, 547 U.S. at 497, 126 S.Ct. 1976. Together, the transcript and the minute order support this ends-of-justice exclusion.