Routine/administrative filing

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · No. 1:21-cr-00729-LAK · Doc. 39 · 2022-06-17 · Docket on CourtListener

Summary

A court reporter's record of a May 17, 2022 proceeding in United States v. Chanette Lewis, et al., No. 1:21-cr-00729-LAK, before District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, filed June 17, 2022 as Doc. 39. Appearances are listed for the government and for defendants Lewis, Benjamin, West and Daniel. The government states that plea negotiations are ongoing and estimates a four-defendant trial at approximately two weeks. After counsel discuss scheduling conflicts, the court sets trial for January 17th, 2023. On the government's application and with no objection, the court excludes time through January 17th, finding the interests of justice outweigh the interest in a speedy trial. The record runs seven pages.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

1
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 
------------------------------x 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                
 
           v.                           21 CR 729 (LAK) 
 
CHANETTE LEWIS, ET AL., 
 
               Defendants. 
------------------------------x 
                                        New York, N.Y. 
                                        May 17, 2022 
                                        2:46 p.m. 
 
Before: 
 
HON. LEWIS A. KAPLAN, 
 
                                        District Judge 
 
APPEARANCES 
 
DAMIAN WILLIAMS, 
     United States Attorney for the 
     Southern District of New York 
BY:  MICHAEL D. NEFF 
     Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 
DAVID PATTON  
FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF NEW YORK 
     Attorney for Defendant Lewis 
BY:  MARK B. GOMBINER 
 
 
THE LAW OFFICE OF THOMAS A. FARINELLA 
     Attorneys for Defendant Benjamin 
BY:  THOMAS A. FARINELLA 
 
 
KIRTON LAW FIRM 
     Attorneys for Defendant West 
BY:  MARLON KIRTON 
 
 
LAW OFFICES OF EZRA SPILKE, PLLC 
     Attorneys for Defendant Daniel 
BY:  EZRA SPILKE     
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 1 of 7

2
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
(In open court) 
(Case called) 
MR. NEFF:  Good afternoon, your Honor.  Michael Neff
for the government.
THE COURT:  Afternoon.
THE DEPUTY CLERK:  For defendant Chanette Lewis, are
you ready?
MR. GOMBINER:  Yes.  Mark Gombiner, Federal Defenders.
Your Honor, Ms. Lewis is not here because her daughter --
THE COURT:  I can't hear you.
MR. GOMBINER:  Sorry, Judge.  Ms. Lewis is not here
because her daughter, who is two years old, has had a medical
emergency.  I can give the Court a lot of details about this,
but right now she's at Downstate Pediatrics Associates, where
she's being evaluated for a number of seizures she had
recently.  She was in the hospital this weekend; so that's why
she's not here.
THE COURT:  Understood.
THE DEPUTY CLERK:  Defendant Tatiana Benjamin, are you
ready?
MR. FARINELLA:  Yes, your Honor.  Tom Farinella for
Ms. Benjamin, your Honor.
THE DEPUTY CLERK:  Defendant Tatiana Daniel, are your
ready?
MR. SPILKE:  Yes, your Honor.  Ezra Spilke for Tatiana
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 2 of 7

3
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
Daniel, who is present in the courtroom.
THE COURT:  Good afternoon. 
THE DEPUTY CLERK:  Defendant Heaven West, are you
ready?
MR. KIRTON:  Good afternoon.  Marlon Kirton for
Ms. West.  She's behind me.  Good afternoon.
THE COURT:  Good afternoon.  
Okay.  Mr. Neff, I guess it's time to set a trial 
date. 
MR. NEFF:  That's correct, your Honor.  The parties
have begun -- just before this conference, started discussing
respective schedules subject, of course, to Court preferences
and availability.
One potential window that the parties have identified, 
though certainly not the only one, would be in or around late 
January.  I should also note that, related to this 
conversation, is that the parties' negotiations about potential 
pretrial dispositions are ongoing and, in certain instances, 
have intensified of late. 
THE COURT:  How long a trial do you anticipate?
MR. NEFF:  Assuming a four-defendant trial, your
Honor, we would conservatively estimate approximately two
weeks.
THE COURT:  And for the sake of argument, if it were
two defendants?
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 3 of 7

4
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
MR. NEFF:  It would be shorter, Judge.  The precise
duration, I think, does depend a little bit on questions of
stipulations and things of that sort.  I don't think it would
necessarily be shorter by half, though.
THE COURT:  Okay.  Folks, what about January 3rd?
MR. NEFF:  That works for the government, your Honor.
MR. SPILKE:  Your Honor, I have travel in that week.
I will say that --
THE COURT:  Think of it as protecting you from Covid.
MR. SPILKE:  Thank you, Judge.  I think my wife would
be -- I think she wouldn't be too thrilled with the fact that I
think she's booked the tickets already, but I will say that I
think that we're very close to a resolution.  I don't want to
hold up any other dates for anyone, but if I could have that
date with the proviso that within, I don't know, four weeks I
can say that it looks like we are actually going to go to trial
and need a new trial date but --
THE COURT:  What about everybody else?
MR. GOMBINER:  Well, Judge, I do think that
January 3rd would kind of cast a fall over the holiday season.
Maybe it could be like --
THE COURT:  Am I going to have to get you another
birthday cake?  I mean, these things seem to come up in your
trial scheduling.
MR. GOMBINER:  Well, they do come up, Judge, but I'm
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 4 of 7

5
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
just expressing my -- the Court asked for our sentiments.  I
mean, my sentiment is negative but, you know, I mean, we're
subject to the Court's schedule.
MR. SPILKE:  There was another window, Judge, that was
in November that I think worked for most people, and I think I
heard Andy say that the fall is pretty open?
MR. NEFF:  I am highly replaceable.  I do have an
October 30th or 31st trial that's a two-week trial, roughly,
before Judge Failla.
THE COURT:  How can we possibly regard you as
replaceable, Mr. Neff?
MR. NEFF:  All AUSAs are, your Honor.
THE COURT:  That's never true, but that said, well,
the only thing about November, November is pretty open, but
there's Thanksgiving in the middle of it.
MR. KIRTON:  Your Honor, just in terms of scheduling,
I have a preference for 2023.  I have another matter that's
going to be tried in fall of this year.  We should have that
date sometime this week.  I have a trial in June.  I have a
trial in the fall of this year.
THE COURT:  But fall of this year, this other trial
you're talking about, nobody has set a date yet, right?
MR. KIRTON:  Technically, no, but I know it will be
set sometime this week.  So I'm otherwise available in 2023,
but I just wanted to put that on the record.
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 5 of 7

6
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
THE COURT:  I appreciate that.
Mr. Spilke, when does your wife get back from her 
vacation? 
MR. SPILKE:  Well, Judge, the 9th.
THE COURT:  She gets back on the 9th?
MR. SPILKE:  Yes, which is a Monday.
THE COURT:  All right.  January 17th.
MR. SPILKE:  Thank you, Judge.
THE COURT:  Now, I'll tell you that, at the moment, I
have another trial scheduled for that period, but you're the
No. 1 backup, and my best guess is I will be available on
January 17th, but one never knows for sure.
Okay.  Anything else? 
MR. NEFF:  The government seeks to exclude time
between today and the trial date of January 17th, 2023, for the
continued review of documents and discovery, continued plea
negotiations and preparation for trial.
THE COURT:  Any objection?
MR. GOMBINER:  No, your Honor.
MR. SPILKE:  No, your Honor.
MR. KIRTON:  No, objection.
MR. FARINELLA:  No, your Honor.
THE COURT:  All right.  Time is excluded through
January 17th.  I find that the interests of justice served
thereby outweigh the interests of the public and the defendants
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 6 of 7

7
          SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C.
            (212) 805-0300
M5HPLEWC                 
in a speedy trial for the reasons stated by Mr. Neff.
Thank you, folks. 
MR. SPILKE:  Thank you, Judge.
MR. NEFF:  Thank you, Judge.
(Adjourned)  
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Case 1:21-cr-00729-LAK     Document 39     Filed 06/17/22     Page 7 of 7

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.nysd.571079.39.0.pdf

Size

37,633 bytes

SHA-256

250c945e3c877650748fcc35f99d90839df393e5be7df06bf7a5e32b731e0d75

Our copy

gov.uscourts.nysd.571079.39.0.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)