Joint Notice of Failure to Comply with Multiple Court Orders — United States v. Omar Palacios (Document 165)

Summary

Joint Notice of Failure to Comply with Multiple Court Orders and Motion to Exclude Untimely Exhibits, dated January 30, 2025, in United States of America v. Omar Palacios, Case No. 1:24-CR-20155-RUIZ, Southern District of Florida. It states that on January 6, 2025, at 10:00pm, the government served an exhibit list with 215 listed exhibits, and that the Court on January 12, 2025, ordered the government to provide all known exhibits by January 17, 2025. It asks the Court to exclude from trial any text messages or other exhibits the government has had for almost two years. Counsel for Diego Sanchez, Enrique Paris Pais, and Gregory Charles Milo Caskey join the motion.

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Case 1:24-cr-20155-RAR Document 165 Entered on FLSD Docket 01/30/2025 Page 1 of 4




                        UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
                        SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

                           CASE NO. 1:24-CR-20155-RUIZ

   UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

   v.

   OMAR PALACIOS,

         Defendant.
                                          /

           JOINT NOTICE OF FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH
        MULTIPLE COURT ORDERS AND MOTION TO EXCLUDE
    UNTIMELY EXHIBITS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE GOVERNMENT’S
               CONTROL FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS

        On September 23, 2024, the Court held a status conference where the parties

  discussed pre-trial deadlines, including a deadline for the government to disclose its

  exhibit list. [D.E. 101]. On September 24, 2024, this Court entered an order directing

  the government to produce its exhibit list. [D.E. 103]. On January 6, 2025, at

  10:00pm, the government served on the defense an exhibit list with 215 listed

  exhibits. The defense attempted to meet and confer regarding the government’s

  failure to comply with this Court’s Order. These attempts were unsuccessful. As

  such, on January 8, 2025, the defense was forced to file a Motion to Enforce this

  Court’s Order with respect to the deadlines ordered. [D.E. 150]. On January 12,

  2025, the Court gave the government an extra week to comply with the pre-trial

  deadlines and ordered the government to “provide all exhibits known to the
Case 1:24-cr-20155-RAR Document 165 Entered on FLSD Docket 01/30/2025 Page 2 of 4




  government at this time that it intends to use at trial by January 17, 2025.” [D.E.

  151].

          On January 17, 2025, the government sent a letter to the defense stating it had

  produced “all exhibits known to the government”, but that it was still reviewing

  discovery. The letter is attached hereto as Exhibit A. Again, the government simply

  ignored the Court’s order.

          On January 30, 2025, twenty-six (26) days after the Court’s deadline, the

  government sent an email stating “We are in the process of reviewing text messages

  from Nikita Hermesman’s phone and will add those that we intend to use to the 1000

  series. We must excerpt them and finalize them, so they are not ready to produce

  yet. And we will add additional exhibits as we prepare for trial.” The email is

  attached hereto as Exhibit B.

          The government has had Hermesman’s phone in their possession for at least

  510 days – one year, four months, and twenty-two days. Moreover, the government

  has known about the Court’s deadline to serve an exhibit list since September 23,

  2024, for over four months. The time to review Hermesman’s text messages was

  before the government presented this case to a grand jury and obtained an

  Indictment. At minimum, the government should have started the review of the text

  messages on or around September 23, 2024, when it was ordered to serve an exhibit

  list by January 6, 2025.


                                             2
Case 1:24-cr-20155-RAR Document 165 Entered on FLSD Docket 01/30/2025 Page 3 of 4




        The government has an armada of agents and lawyers on this case. The

  government has no excuse for not reviewing the phone prior to the date the exhibit

  list was due on January 6th or even on January 17th, when the court gave them an

  extra week.

        The Government's refusal to follow this Court’s orders will only serve to delay

  and disrupt the deadlines set by the Court and the orderly movement of trial. For

  instance, all Parties have a motions deadline on Friday, January 31, 2025. Additional

  text message exhibits will surely result in issues that need to be raised in a motion in

  limine. Because the government is just getting around to identifying exhibits, and

  no date has been provided for when this will be accomplished, the defense will not

  be in a position to raise those arguments by the Court deadline.

        The government should not be permitted to ignore Court orders it does not

  agree with to the detriment of the defense.          A consequence is appropriate.

  Specifically, the government should not be permitted to add any exhibits to its list

  that were in its possession on January 6, 2025, such as Hermensman’s phone.

        We have no objection, of course, to the government adding to its exhibit list

  those documents that come from the filter team, which it did not have before the

  Court’s orders. However, we are specifically requesting that the Court exclude from

  trial any text messages or other exhibits, which the government has had for almost

  two years, as they are untimely and in complete disregard of this Court’s deadlines.


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Case 1:24-cr-20155-RAR Document 165 Entered on FLSD Docket 01/30/2025 Page 4 of 4




        Counsel for Diego Sanchez joins this motion.

        Counsel for Enrique Paris Pais joins this motion.

        Counsel for Gregory Charles Milo Caskey joins this motion.

   Date: January 30, 2025                     Respectfully submitted,

                                              TACHE, BRONIS AND DESCALZO, P.A.
                                              150 S.E. 2 Avenue, Suite 600
                                              Miami, Florida 33131
                                              Telephone: (305) 537-9565
                                              Facsimile: (305) 537-9567

                                              By: /s/ Marissel Descalzo
                                                     Marissel Descalzo, Esq.
                                                     Florida Bar. No. 0669318
                                                     mdescalzo@tachebronis.com
                                                     service@tachebronis.com
                                                     Counsel for Omar Palacios


                            CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

        I CERTIFY THAT, on this 30th day of January, 2025, the foregoing was

  electronically transmitted utilizing the Court’s CM/ECF platform

                                              By: /s/ Marissel Descalzo
                                                     Marissel Descalzo, Esq.




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