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Document 20-MC-00004-9

AI Analysis

Summary: The document discusses the ongoing delays in Mr. Robertson's trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent change in his defense team, and his previous request for release from pretrial detention. The court had previously denied his release request and is now facing the challenge of proceeding with trial preparations with a new defense team. The trial is currently set for April 5, 2021.
Significance: This document is potentially important because it discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the defendant's right to a speedy trial and his request for release from pretrial detention due to health concerns.
Key Topics: COVID-19 pandemic impact on court proceedings Pretrial detention and bail reform Change in defendant's legal representation
Key People:
  • Mr. Robertson - Defendant in a criminal case
  • Johnson, C.J. - Chief Judge of the District of New Mexico
Document Type
Court Filing
Date
March 13, 2020
Pages
1
Folder
IMAGES007

Full Text

Cases: 1:17-cr-02949-MVIT Document 3061 Filed 03/06/21 Page 3 of 16 Light of the Coronavirus Outbreak, 20-MC-00004-9 (D.N.M. Mar. 13, 2020) (Johnson, C.J.). Almost a full year later, jury trials remain suspended in the District of New Mexico. See In the Matter of: Superseding Administrative Order 20-MC-00004-49, 21-MC-00004-04 (D.N.M. Jan. 15, 2021) (Johnson, C.J.) (continuing the suspension of all civil and criminal jury trials through at least February 28, 2021). In the intervening 11 months, Mr. Robertson has remained in custody. During that time period, the Court set and then continued several trial dates due to the pandemic, including dates in December 2020 and February 2021. See, e.g., Doc. 271. Mr. Robertson's trial will now be reset for April 5, 2021, and the Court is hopeful that he will finally get his day in court after the extreme and unprecedented delay he has endured. Complicating matters, however, is the fact that the pandemic and the resulting passage of time has led to a recent and significant change in Mr. Robertson's defense team: both of his original attorneys withdrew from the case in January of this year. Doc. 295. As a result, the attorneys with which he will be going to trial in two months were appointed in September 2020 and January 2021. Docs. 197 and 293. Although the Court would not have granted the appointments if it were not sure that Mr. Robertson's new attorneys would be ready for trial this April, they nevertheless face the daunting task of earning their client's trust, preparing for trial, and reviewing three years' worth of litigation in a matter of months. Mr. Robertson first asked the Court to consider his release in July of last year. Doc. 181. He argued that his continued pretrial detention posed a risk to his health because his compromised immune system makes him especially vulnerable to serious illness or death from COVID-19. Id. at 5. He also argued that there were conditions of release that would satisfy the requirements of the Bail Reform Act, including the designation of his father as a third-party custodian. Id. at 9-10. The Court took up the motion at a status conference held on September 11, 2020. It explained 3 DOJ-OGR-00020211