LAS VEGAS (AP) — There won’t be a federal trial next month in Las Vegas for rancher Cliven Bundy and 18 other defendants in an armed confrontation with government officers two years ago.
In a written ruling issued following a two-hour hearing in a courtroom crowded with defendants, attorneys, U.S. marshals and audience members, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen essentially called a May 2 trial date unrealistic.
She noted that none of the 19 defendants has received any of the evidence against him for review, and five defendants who’ve been in custody in Oregon were arraigned just last week.
Her order didn’t set a new date.
Federal prosecutors want a trial date next February, due to the number of defendants and the exceptionally large amount of evidence they need to exchange with defense attorneys.
Fourteen of the defendants say they want to exercise their right to a speedy trial.
The indictment charges conspiracy, obstruction, weapon, threats and assault charges that could get each man the equivalent of life in prison in the standoff with federal agents about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
All are currently in federal custody. Friday was the first time all appeared in one courtroom together.
Leen has yet to rule whether the case will be tracked as “complex.”
Prosecutor Steven Myhre put the amount of video to be turned over to defense attorneys at 1.4 terabytes — an amount that defense attorney Julian Gregory, representing Todd Engel, compared to 3,000 full-length Hollywood movies.
Myhre said the material includes hundreds of thousands of Facebook postings obtained by warrants, plus investigators’ reports, photos and media accounts collected since the gunpoint showdown.
The April 2014 incident pitted about 270 armed and unarmed Bundy backers against about 40 federal agents and cowboy contractors who backed down and gave up a cattle round-up near Bunkerville, Nevada.
Seven co-defendants in the Nevada case also face a federal trial in September in Oregon following their arrests in an armed occupation of a U.S. wildlife refuge earlier this year.
Myhre called it unfair to expect those seven to prepare for and defend themselves in two federal trials in separate states at the same time.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Shari Kaufman, representing Ryan Payne, a defendant in both cases, said the defendants shouldn’t be put at a disadvantage by prosecutors’ decisions about when to indict them.
“They waited almost two years to bring this case,” she said of prosecutors.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-may-court-date-federal-bundy-standoff-case-233408226.html
A Federal Judge…isn’t that a judge that works for and gets paid to do the governments bidding and dirty work? These people will not get a fair trial with a jury of their peers. Why isn’t the BLM uniformed thugs being charged with the crimes they committed against the US citizens? And why does the BLM need M16’s, snipers, dogs and pepper spray? I can almost bet that harry reid is behind all of this, he wants their land.
These defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial. Foot dragging, by the U.S. Attorney’s office, by not sharing evidence against them, does not over-ride the constitution. Six months after being arrested, all 19 defendants, should file suit against the government for denial of rights, official oppression , abuse of office, prosecutorial misconduct and color of law. Make this trial the most costly in the history of the country. It is of utmost importance to keep these defendants in the public eye and who exactly is persecuting them. Names, home addresses, telephone numbers, everything!
These people have been kidnapped
Not found guilty of anything , yet heald against their will , subjected to who knows what kind of treatment, and this drags on and on , because the Feds know they have to make up shit to keep the game rolling
“Time out. We got no evidence against the Bundys. Judge, we need to fabricate some evidence so we request a continuance.” They got nothing that will hold up but the corrupt judicial system will remedy the situation, I’m sure.
THE LAW IS THERE IS NO LAW!
I wish i really had all the facts from the get go on this. Meanwhile i see pics of starving cattle?
Just another Judge doing the Devils bidding.
May God have mercy on her soul.
She should eat some of her own prison food.
Then maybe she’ll have a change of heart.
The Bundys are political prisoners period.
Why doesn’t the Mormon church do anything about it…?
Because he went against the Church without their Godly blessed authority.
Because the Church is in bed with the Zionists.
The Bundys are just a sacrificial lamb for the LDS church so they can keep their wealth and power.
Plus to keep propagating their mind control holy terrorism.
They denounced the Bundys actions publicly when that all went down.
Kind of shows you where the LDS dirty church is huh.
It’s not only the politicians that need to stretch some rope, let’s spare some for the heads of the misleading “dirty church”. They have lead their flocks astray, defiled young boys, and have mocked their own beliefs for a taste of “honey dew”.
Fleshly pleasures forbidden, they are weak for breaking their oath to God. If you can’t trust a man’s word to God, what good is he?