Free Motion to Incur Expenses - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:03-cr-00132-RNC

Document 55

Filed 05/11/2005

Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. EDUARDO SARDINAS : : : CRIMINAL NO. 3:03CR132(RNC)

DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES Eduardo Sardinas, who is at liberty on a nonsurety bond with a condition that he return to court for all necessary proceedings, pled guilty on October 1, 2003, to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Mr. Sardinas suffered a right hemisphere stroke with cardiac complications in January of 2004, necessitating a postponement of his sentencing. Sentencing is presently scheduled for June 10, 2005. Mr. Sardinas remains paralyzed on his left side and is residing at a nursing home, Silver Springs Care Center, in Meriden, Connecticut. He cannot get in and out of bed by himself; he is wheelchair bound when not in bed. Mr. Sardinas cannot travel to court to attend sentencing unless conveyed by wheelchair car. Hunters Ambulance Service of Meriden, Connecticut, can bring him by wheelchair car at a roundtrip cost of $387.60. He is completely indigent and thus cannot afford to pay the $387.60 cost for the wheelchair car. 18 U.S.C. § 4285 provides in pertinent part that any Court which has released a defendant on bond "on a condition of his subsequent appearance before that court ... may, when the interests of justice would be served thereby and the United States Judge ... is satisfied, after appropriate inquiry, that the defendant is financially unable to provide the necessary transportation to appear before the required court on his own, direct the United States Marshal to arrange for that person's means of noncustodial transportation or furnish the fare for such transportation...." Counsel for the Government states that the Government concurs that under the extremely unusual circumstances of this case, an order directing the United States Marshal to furnish the fare for Mr. Sardinas' transportation by wheelchair car is appropriate. Attached hereto is a proposed order to that effect.

Case 3:03-cr-00132-RNC

Document 55

Filed 05/11/2005

Page 2 of 2

-2Respectfully submitted, The Defendant, Eduardo Sardinas Thomas G. Dennis Federal Defender

Dated: May 10, 2005

/s/ Gary D. Weinberger Asst. Federal Defender 10 Columbus Blvd, FL 6 Hartford, CT 06106-1976 Bar No. ct05085 (860) 493-6260 CERTIFICATION

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of the foregoing Motion has been mailed to Raymond F. Miller, Assistant United States Attorney, P.O. Box 1824, New Haven, CT 06508, on this 10 day of May 2005.

/s/ Gary Weinberger