Opinion ID: 2981099
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The April 13, 2010 Continuance

Text: On March 24, 2010, Welti’s new counsel asked for a few more weeks in order to review discovery and prepare for trial, which the court granted, stating that the need for the defense to be prepared for trial outweighed the interest in a speedy trial. At a conference on April 13, 2010, the parties met with the court to set a date for trial, which was scheduled for June 29, 2010. The court excluded from the speedy-trial clock the time between April 13, 2010 and June 29, 2010, finding that Welti’s counsel needed that time to fully prepare for trial. Considered in the context of the conference, in which Welti’s counsel stated that he had an ongoing trial in Kentucky that would prevent him from being prepared for this trial before the June 29 date, and further considering that Richardson had expressly declined to sever the cases, this continuance was properly excluded in the interests of justice. See Stewart, 628 F.3d at 253; see also Zedner, 547 U.S. at 506–508. In its order denying Richardson’s motion to dismiss on Speedy Trial Act grounds, the court reiterated that the continuance was necessary to allow proper trial preparation. No. 11-3127 United States v. Richardson Page 10 Based on this analysis, and in light of the general rule that only one speedy-trial clock governs both defendants where the court has not severed the cases, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7); see also see United States v. Cope, 312 F.3d 757, 776 (6th Cir. 2002), the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting each continuance complained of here. Moreover, Richardson makes no attempt in his briefs to argue that he was prejudiced by the various continuances, the majority of which he requested. “[I]n order to obtain a reversal of a conviction on the basis of a violation of the Speedy Trial Act where a district court exercises its discretion to grant a continuance for the ends of justice, a defendant must show ‘actual prejudice.’” Stewart, 628 F.3d at 254 (citing United States v. Gardner, 488 F.3d 700, 718 (6th Cir. 2007) (refusing to overturn the defendant’s conviction based on a violation of the Speedy Trial Act where the “period of delay occasioned by the granting of [two of the defendants’] motions was reasonable”)). Accordingly, Richardson’s claim of error is without merit.