Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis has now ordered a schedule for the upcoming trial of Keith Raniere, Clare Bronfman, Nancy Salzman, Allison Mack, Lauren Salzman, and Kathy Russell.
Here is the schedule. Keep in mind it is subject to change.
October 31: Defendants must make any request for relief from this court’s 25-page limit on motions.
November 16: Defendants shall file their “Pretrial Motions (Unrelated to Discovery or Severance)” (the “Initial Motions”) by no later than November 16, 2018.
December 14: The Government shall file its responses, subject to possible extension for good cause.
December 21: Defendants shall file their replies to the government’s replies, or seven days after the Government files its responses.
January 3, 2019: Oral argument on the Initial Motions is scheduled at 11:00 A.M. in Courtroom 4D South.
The court will not set a schedule for other types of pretrial motions that the parties intend to file until after the court reviews the Initial Motions.
Additionally, the court will not set a schedule for “Motions Related to Jury Selection,” but will instead schedule a hearing at which the parties can propose procedures for jury selection.
March 18, 2019: Opening statements and trial are scheduled to begin, subject to the court’s further review.
***
Personal prediction: This trial will NOT start on March 18th. There will be some delays in discovery and motions will be pushed back. A superseding indictment may be handed down – which would very likely push the trial date into the fall of 2019.
Of course, I could be wrong. If everyone flips and allows Keith Raniere to take the fall and Clare Bronfman to make true restitution, then this trial could occur in March – with one or two defendants – not the original six.
