Opinion
Criminal Case No. 13-cr-00302-CMA
03-03-2015
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 2. Edgar Leopoldo Garcia-Martinez Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL AND REQUEST FOR ENDS OF JUSTICE FINDING AND MOTION TO RECONSIDER
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Garcia-Martinez' Motion to Continue Trial and Request for Ends of Justice Finding (Doc. # 186), as well as Defendant's Motion for Reconsideration of the Court's Ruling Regarding Disclosure of Information of Confidential Informants (Doc. # 180).
As for the latter Motion, the Court agrees that good cause has been shown to reconsider the Court's earlier ruling. Although the Court does not agree that setting the Motion for hearing would help bring this matter closer to resolution, because the ruling rested on the Government's assertions that what it withheld was cumulative of information it already produced, the Court should conduct an in camera review of the withheld documents. See United States v. Moralez, 908 F.2d 565, 569 (10th Cir. 1990) (noting that in camera proceedings to review the necessity of disclosure in confidential informant cases often represent the "best" way to accommodate the competing governmental and individual interests, as the "procedure will limit the extent of the disclosure of the informant's identity and information, thereby protecting the State's interest in avoiding unnecessary disclosure, while at the same time it will safeguard defendant's right to the testimony of any accessible witness who may be significantly helpful to his [or her] defense.")
Accordingly, Mr. Sibert is ordered to produce both (1) the documents pertaining to the confidential informants that it has already produced to Defendant, and (2) any withheld documents pertaining to the confidential informants that are already in the AUSA's possession and control. The former shall be submitted to both the Court and Defendant's lawyer, and the latter shall be submitted only to the Court. The Court will conduct an in camera review of these documents to determine if the information contained in the withheld documents is merely cumulative of documents previously produced or if additional disclosure is required.
As for Defendant's Motion to Continue Trial and Request for Ends of Justice Finding (Doc. # 186), the Court has thoroughly reviewed this Motion and the case file. Specifically, on February 27, 2014, the Court set this case for a five-day jury trial to begin on March 9, 2014. Defense counsel would be unable to prepare and present it defense based on this limited timeframe. Upon receiving notice of the trial date, defense counsel contacted several witnesses, including several expert witnesses, to determine their availability, and several witnesses had a variety of conflicts with the trial dates and also would not have adequate time to prepare. Additionally, Defendant may be calling a witness who lives in Mexico, who will need additional time to plan for travel for the trial. Moreover, defense counsel's investigator is presently working on a death penalty case from the remainder of this month through the month of May, and counsel requires her investigator's assistance in conducting witness interviews and obtaining further evidence favorable to the defense.
Moreover, the charges against Mr. Garcia-Martinez are very serious: they carry a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and can range up to 293 months. On the other hand, the government's witnesses are government agents, who will not be prejudiced by a continuance. Additionally, as described above, Defendant has filed a Motion to Reconsider a ruling the Court made with regard to discovery of confidential informants and Giglio materials (Doc. # 180), and asserts that the issues raised in the Motion are critical to the effective defense of Mr. Garcia-Martinez. The Court will require additional time to review the materials and provide any materials that should be disclosed to the defense. The defense, in turn, will require additional evidence to review these materials.
Accordingly, upon review, the Court finds pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) that the ends of justice served by granting the motion outweigh the best interests of the public and the Defendant in a speedy trial. It is therefore,
ORDERED that Defendant Garcia-Martinez' Motion to Continue Trial and Request for Ends of Justice Finding (Doc. # 186) is GRANTED and the Court hereby grants an ends of justice continuance in this case of 120 days, which shall be excluded from the speedy trial clock, which currently stands at March 26, 2015. It is further
ORDERED that Mr. Sibert is ordered to produce both (1) the documents pertaining to the confidential informants that it has already produced to Defendant, and (2) any withheld documents pertaining to the confidential informants that are already in the AUSA's possession and control. The former shall be submitted to both the Court and Defendant's lawyer, and the latter shall be submitted only to the Court. The Court will conduct an in camera review of these documents to determine if the information contained in the withheld documents is merely cumulative of documents previously produced or if additional disclosure is required. It is further
ORDERED that the Final Trial Preparation conference, scheduled for March 4, 2015, and the five-day jury trial, set to commence March 9, 2015, are hereby VACATED.
DATED: March 3, 2015
BY THE COURT:
/s/_________
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO
United States District Judge