Information — United States v. Eric Shibley (Dkt. 75, W.D. Wash. No. 2:20-cr-00174)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · No. 2:20-cr-00174-JCC · Doc. 75 · 2021-04-08 · Docket on CourtListener

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ORDER 
CR20-0174-JCC 
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THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 
AT SEATTLE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
Plaintiff, 
v. 
ERIC SHIBLEY, 
 
Defendant. 
CASE NO. CR20-0174-JCC 
ORDER 
This order follows an April 7, 2021 status conference where both parties agreed that in 
light of the complexity of this case, the volume of discovery, and the COVID-19 pandemic’s 
impact on defense counsel’s ability to prepare for trial, the Court should continue trial until 
November 15, 2021. As it has for the past several months, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to 
impact the Court’s operations. (See W.D. Wash. General Orders 01-20, 02-20, 07-20, 08-20, 11-
20, 13-20, 15-20, 18-20, 04-21 each of which the Court incorporates by reference.) Specifically, 
the pandemic has made it difficult for the Court to obtain an adequate spectrum of jurors to 
represent a fair cross section of the community, and public health guidance has impacted the 
ability of jurors, witnesses, counsel, and Court staff to be present in the courtroom. (See 
generally id.) Although the availability of a vaccine makes it likely that the Court will be able to 
resume in-person criminal trials in May 2021, the Court will continue to be limited by public 
health measures, such as limits on the number of people in the courthouse and courtrooms, which 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC   Document 75   Filed 04/08/21   Page 1 of 2

 
ORDER 
CR20-0174-JCC 
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are likely to limit the Court’s ability to try cases as efficiently as it would absent a pandemic. 
(See W.D. Wash. General Order 04-21 at 2.) Mr. Shibley’s counsel represented at the status 
conference that public health measures at the Federal Detention Center have also impacted Mr. 
Shibley’s ability to meet in person with his attorney. Accordingly, the Court FINDS that the ends 
of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the best interests of Mr. Shibley and the 
public to a speedy trial. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A). The reasons for this finding are: 
1. In light of defense counsel’s diminished ability to meet with Mr. Shibley in person 
due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the voluminous discovery in this case, which 
involves numerous loan applications, bank records, and other financial information, 
the failure to grant a continuance would deny defense counsel reasonable time 
necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence. 
See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(iv). 
2. This case is complex due to the nature of the allegations and the numerous corporate 
entities allegedly involved, so it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for 
trial by the current trial date. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(B)(ii). 
Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 
1. Trial is CONTINUED until November 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.  
2. The period from the date of this order until November 15, 2021 is an excludable time 
period under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A). 
3. The pretrial motion deadline is continued until October 1, 2021. 
 
DATED this 8th day of April 2021. 
A  
John C. Coughenour 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC   Document 75   Filed 04/08/21   Page 2 of 2

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