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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 246 Filed 04/23/21 Page5of13
The Hon. Alison J. Nathan
April 22, 2021
Page 5
would mandate a continuance. Ms. Maxwell must now: search various records (to the extent they
are available) and track down numerous witnesses to determine her locations and activities
during this expanded period. She must also identify employees who worked for Mr. Epstein
during this time period to determine the scope of their knowledge about the allegations. These
are time consuming and difficult tasks and Ms. Maxwell respectfully submits that denial of a
continuance under these circumstances would constitute an abuse of discretion.
In United States v. Guzman, 754 F.2d 482, 486 (2d Cir. 1985), the Second Circuit
reversed the defendant’s conspiracy conviction, noting that:
[W]e cannot agree with the government's contentions that the changes in
Guzman's superseding indictment were insubstantial and that Guzman was
therefore not prejudiced because forced to proceed immediately to trial on the
conspiracy count. Even though the same evidence may have been presented to
prove the existence of a two-year conspiracy as would have been used on the
indictment charging a conspiracy of only two days, it cannot be disputed that in
the proper preparation of a defense to the charge of a two-year conspiracy,
counsel was required to review a far longer period of activity with his client.
By focusing on the prosecution's case and the fact that the evidence introduced at
trial on the superseding indictment was the same as that which the government
had expected to use at the first trial, the district court neglected to take into
account the impact that the second indictment might have had on defense theories
of the case, and the resultant need for a more extended preparation. Guzman's
counsel had specifically indicated to Judge Platt that he needed more time to
obtain proof that Guzman was not in the country until after the enlarged
conspiracy period began. Regardless of the government's representation that it
would offer no new evidence at the second trial, Guzman was entitled to the
opportunity to pursue this new line of defense, which would not have been
available to him under the original indictment. The district court abused its
discretion in not granting defendant Guzman a reasonable continuance to prepare
his defense to the charge of participation in a two-year conspiracy. Guzman's
conviction on the conspiracy count is, accordingly, reversed.
Id. In the Guzman case, the conspiracy was expanded from two days to two years, and the
Second Circuit found that the refusal to grant a continuance was an abuse of discretion. By
contrast, the denial of a continuance may be upheld in cases where the changes to the indictment
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| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00003992.jpg |
| File Size | 908.0 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 95.4% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,784 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:43:02.567696 |