Free Motion to Continue Trial - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

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ANN E M . W ILL IAM S, P.C. ANNE M . WILLIAMS # 012414 amw illiams@ cox.net Attorney at Law 1833 East Baseline Road - PMB 265 Gilbert, Arizona 85233-1545 (T) 480.892.7177 (F) 480.471.6652 Attorn ey for M arvin B urne t

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

United States of America, CR 03-0470-005-PHX-SRB Plaintiff, v. MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL AND EXTEND TIME TO FILE PRETRIAL MOTIONS (Second Request)

MARVIN JERMAIN ERROL BURNET,

Defendant.

Marvin Burnet, through undersigned counsel moves this Court to continue the trial date of May 1, 2007, for an additional forty-five (45) days, and the time for filing pre-trial motions for an additional thirty (30) days. Mr. Burnet requires the additional time to allow counsel to secure a Dutch Interpreter to review the plea agreement with him. It is counsel's belief that this matter may be resolved once the plea agreement has been fully explained to Mr. Burnet with the

23 24 25 26 27 28 assistance of a Dutch interpreter. Although motions to continue are not generally granted based on plea negotiations, in this particular case the difficulty has been not in negotiations, but rather having an appropriately trained Dutch language interpreter available to assist with the explanations and translations necessary for Mr. Burnet to have a full and complete understanding of the criminal process including: plea agreements, trial, and sentencing options.

Case 2:03-cr-00470-SRB

Document 158

Filed 03/22/2007

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This case has been further complicated by the fact that the Office of Court Interpreters has not been able to secure a certified Dutch language interpreter. One Dutch-speaking person whom the Office of Court Interpreters secured to assist Mr. Burnet in court had a distracting and confusing stutter. Mr. Burnet complained of difficulty in understanding fully this interpreter.

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 arrangements for the use of this attorney's Dutch translation services. Additionally, it is likely 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 that that attorney may not have the necessary access for entrance at CCA, where Mr. Burnet is housed. Therefore, it may be necessary to transport Mr. Burnet via the Marshal's service to Phoenix for purposes of meeting with Mr. Burnet, the interpreter and counsel. Counsel has contacted Ms. Mary Beth Pfister with regard to this motion and she has no objection to the requested continuance. concepts. Counsel for Mr. Burnet has found that this dual language use verus dual language understanding is not unusual when dealing with clients who speak English to some degree but feel more comfortable utilizing their native language for more complex concepts. Counsel for Mr. Burnet has received information from the Dutch Consulate regarding the possibility of using a local Dutch speaking attorney to assist counsel with explaining the plea agreement to Mr. Burnet. It is requested that counsel be granted additional time to make the appropriate Counsel, likewise, had difficulty when it was necessary for that interpreter to relay information from Dutch back to English for counsel. The second Dutch-speaking person the Office of Court Interpreters secured did not understand the legal terminology used throughout the proceedings. That interpreter often "translated" legal terms simply restating the word exactly as it was said in English. Although Mr. Burnet has a working use of the English language at the conversational level, he struggles with many of the American judicial system's legal terminologies and

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Case 2:03-cr-00470-SRB

Document 158

Filed 03/22/2007

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It is expected that excludable delay under Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3161(h)(1)(F) may occur as a result of this motion or from an order based thereon. Respectfully submitted: March 22, 2007. /S/ ANNE M. WILLIAMS ANNE M. WILLIAMS, P.C.

Copy of the foregoing served this date via transmittal of Notice of Electronic Filing to CM/ECF registrant(s): Ms. Mary Beth Pfister [email protected] Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtesy Copy of this motion provided via e-mail attachment to: Honorable Susan R. Bolton [email protected]

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Case 2:03-cr-00470-SRB

Document 158

Filed 03/22/2007

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