Further Status Report re Status of Counsel — United States v. Mark Schena (N.D. Cal., Dkt. 75)

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Further Status Report re Status of Counsel, Document 75, filed October 21, 2021, in United States v. Mark Schena, Case 5:20-cr-00425, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Counsel for the defendant submits it as requested by the Court on October 7, 2021. The report states that Schena has continued to market his house with the assistance of professional realtors and that there has been no offer. It states that counsel cannot prepare for trial without sufficient funds, and that the Court asked about allocating some funds under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). It states that it appears the way forward is the reappointment of the Federal Public Defender, and is signed /s/ Todd Pickles.

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               Case 5:20-cr-00425-EJD Document 75 Filed 10/21/21 Page 1 of 2



 1   Todd Pickles (SBN CA 215629)
     GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP
 2   1201 K Street, Suite 1100
     Sacramento, California 95814
 3   Telephone: 916.442.1111
     Facsimile: 916.448.1709
 4   picklest@gtlaw.com

 5   Attorney for Defendant Mark Schena

 6

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 8                                    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
 9                                 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10

11   United States of America,                            CASE NO. 5:20‐cr‐00425‐EJD
12          Plaintiff,                                    FURTHER STATUS REPORT RE STATUS
                                                          OF COUNSEL
13   v.
14   Mark Schena,
15          Defendant.
16

17          TO THIS HONORABLE COURT AND TO THE GOVERNMENT AND ITS COUNSEL:

18          Counsel for Defendant Mark Schena hereby submits this status report as requested by the Court on

19   October 7, 2021. Counsel advises that although Mr. Schena has continued to actively market his house

20   with the assistance of professional realtors, including several public and private showings since the last

21   court appearance on October 7, there has been no offer made relating to his house. Mr. Schena is continuing

22   to attempt to sell the house with the purpose of obtaining the funds necessary to prepare for trial. As

23   counsel stated previously, it is expected that the funds obtained through the sale would be sufficient for the

24   purpose of trial preparation, although ultimately that is contingent on the final sale amount. Regardless, as

25   the sale has not yet occurred, those funds are not available and without sufficient funds counsel cannot

26   prepare for trial for the reasons previously indicated to the Court.

27          Additionally, the Court inquired about the possibility of allocating some funds under the Criminal

28   Justice Act (CJA) for the purpose of some aspects of trial preparation for Mr. Schena. Current counsel

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                                 FURTHER STATUS REPORT RE STATUS OF COUNSEL
               Case 5:20-cr-00425-EJD Document 75 Filed 10/21/21 Page 2 of 2



 1   does not believe such funds, to the extent that they might be available for the purpose of retaining some

 2   experts and/or investigators, would be sufficient to address the funding issue for counsel’s own preparation.

 3   Further, the Federal Public Defender previously represented Mr. Schena at his first appearance and thus it

 4   is not anticipated that there are any conflict issues, including any that would ordinarily lead to the

 5   expenditure of CJA funds for conflict counsel. Counsel for Mr. Schena can address any further inquiries

 6   the Court may have regarding the status of current counsel, including ex parte if necessary regarding the

 7   issue of funding for counsel’s trial preparation.

 8          Ultimately, as previously discussed, this is a unique situation and one that Mr. Schena has been

 9   attempting to resolve for many months, including several price reductions in an effort to sell his home,

10   without current success. Given the Court’s, the Government’s, and Mr. Schena’s own desire to move the

11   case to trial, and the absence of funds sufficient for current counsel to do so, it appears that that the way

12   forward is the reappointment of the Federal Public Defender to represent Mr. Schena. If there are later

13   material changes to Mr. Schena’s financial situation, those can be addressed at that time.

14                                                          Respectfully submitted,

15   DATED: October 21, 2021                                GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP

16
                                                         By: /s/ Todd Pickles
17                                                          Todd Pickles
                                                            Attorney for Defendant Mark Schena
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                                 FURTHER STATUS REPORT RE STATUS OF COUNSEL


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