Opinion ID: 1456667
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Continuance Motion

Text: Keiser first argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his October 23, 2007 motion to continue sentencing. The district court originally scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2007, but successively rescheduled sentencing for June 11, 2007, August 10, 2007, and August 31, 2007. Following its appointment of the federal public defender to represent Keiser, the court again rescheduled sentencing for October 19, 2007. The public defender filed his notice of appearance on August 14, 2007, and moved for a continuance on September 5, 2007. The court granted the motion and rescheduled sentencing for November 2, 2007. On October 23, 2007, the public defender filed another continuance motion, which the court denied on the following basis: [D]efense counsel has had adequate time to prepare for sentencing. Counsel was appointed for the defendant almost twelve weeks ago. The bulk of the transcripts will have been in counsel's possession for approximately one month at the time of sentencing. Defense counsel has been in possession of the discovery documentation for more than two months. It does not appear additional time is necessary for adequate preparation. We review a denial of a motion for continuance for abuse of discretion. United States v. Vesey, 330 F.3d 1070, 1071 (8th Cir.2003). District courts are afforded broad discretion when ruling on requests for continuances. Continuances generally are not favored and should be granted only when the party requesting one has shown a compelling reason. United States v. Cotroneo, 89 F.3d 510, 514 (8th Cir.1996) (internal citation omitted). In determining whether the district court abused its discretion by denying the motions for continuance, we consider `whether counsel had sufficient time to prepare for trial; . . . whether counsel's conduct at trial showed that he was well prepared; [and] whether the court's refusal to grant a continuance prejudiced the defendant.' Vesey, 330 F.3d at 1072 (quoting United States v. Heine, 920 F.2d 552, 555 (8th Cir.1990) (per curiam)) (alterations in Vesey ). Keiser's attorney had sufficient time to prepare for sentencing, and his conduct demonstrated that he was well prepared. Keiser's attorney filed his notice of appearance on August 14, 2007, and the court sentenced Keiser on November 2, 2007, more than 11 weeks later. Keiser cites no authority supporting his argument that this time period was insufficient for his attorney to review the lengthy transcripts and voluminous discovery generated in the case. Indeed, Keiser's attorney filed a detailed sentencing memorandum on October 31, 2007, in which he objected to the application of various enhancements, argued for a downward departure based on Keiser's age and physical condition pursuant to U.S.S.G. §§ 5H1.1 and 5H1.4, and argued for a § 3553(a) variance. Our review of the sentencing transcript likewise reflects that Keiser's attorney was well prepared and provided competent representation at Keiser's sentencing hearing. Furthermore, Keiser identifies nothing in the record indicating that he was prejudiced by the district court's denial of his continuance motion. Keiser alleges that the court's denial of his continuance motion prevented [his] counsel from obtaining the necessary command of the trial record concerning the determination of the amount of loss for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b), but he points to no evidence in the record indicating that the court's ruling affected his attorney's representation on that issue. In fact, Keiser's attorney persuaded the court to reject the 20-level § 2B1.1(b) enhancement requested by the government in favor of an 18-level § 2B1.1(b) enhancement. Because Keiser's attorney had sufficient time to prepare for sentencing, the conduct of Keiser's attorney reflected adequate preparation, and Keiser fails to identify any evidence of prejudice, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Keiser's October 23, 2007 continuance motion.