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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. KEYUR HIRENBHAI PATEL, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 3:20-cr-0008 ) ) ) ) ) ORDER BEFORE THE COURT is the United States of America’s (the “Government”) Motion to Continue Trial, currently scheduled for October 4, 2021. For the reasons stated herein, the Court will grant the motion to continue. The time to try this case is extended up to and including January 10, 2022. On July 20, 2021, the Government filed a motion to continue trial. (ECF No. 55). In the motion, the Government asserts Defendant Keyur Hirenbhai Patel (“Patel”) has filed a petition seeking asylum in the United States and is awaiting a credible fear interview to determine whether he has established a reasonable prima facie case that makes it plausible that he could be granted asylum. Id. at 1. As such, the United States requests a continuance of the date so that the Patel may present his case for asylum during his credible fear interview. In addition, the Government asserts that the Government’s counsel has planned off-island travel coinciding with the current date of trial. Id. at 2. Patel does not oppose the motion. Moreover, in response to the current conditions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the undersigned, as Chief Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, issued a general order concerning operations of the Court on September 30, 2021, suspending all jury trials through October 31, 2021.1 The Court hereby fully incorporates the findings from the Court’s Twenty- Seventh Operations Order as fully stated herein. 1 https://www.vid.uscourts.gov/sites/vid/files/general-ordes/Twenty- Seventh%20Order%20Concerning%20Court%20Operations%20During%20COVID%20Outbreak.pdf Case: 3:20-cr-00008-RAM-GAT Document #: 56 Filed: 10/01/21 Page 1 of 2 United States v. Patel Case No.: 3:20-cr-0008 Order To date, the COVID-19 virus has claimed more than 696,000 lives in the United States (71 of which have been in the U.S. Virgin Islands). COVID-19 continues to present an unpredictable threat to public health and safety, as shown in the recent surge in COVID-19 cases both in the continental United States and the Virgin Islands. As such, the Court finds that extending the period within which Defendant Patel may be tried under the Speedy Trial Act is necessary for the protection and well-being of the Defendant, the jury, the prosecutors, the witnesses, the Court’s personnel, and the general public at large. The premises considered, it is hereby ORDERED that the Government’s motion to continue the trial date and extend the motions deadline, ECF No. 55, is GRANTED; it is further ORDERED that the time beginning from the date of this order granting an extension through January 10, 2022, SHALL be excluded in computing the time within which the trial in this matter must be initiated pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161; it is further ORDERED that the parties SHALL file and serve a pre-trial brief no later than January 3, 2022, which shall include the following: (a) proposed list of witnesses; (b) proposed list of exhibits; (c) estimated length of case-in-chief and case-in-defense; (d) proposed non- standard voir dire questions; and (e) proposed non-standard jury instructions related to the elements of the charges and defenses; it is further ORDERED that the parties SHALL provide the Clerk of Court with a USB Flash Drive containing electronic versions of exhibits no later than January 5, 2022;2 and it is further ORDERED that the jury selection and trial in this matter SHALL commence promptly at 9:00 a.m. on January 10, 2022, in St. Thomas Courtroom 1. Dated: October 1, 2021 /s/_Robert A. Molloy ROBERT A. MOLLOY Chief Judge 2 Counsel are advised to consult with Court technical staff to determine the proper format for saving electronic versions of exhibits. The Government’s trial exhibits shall be labelled sequentially beginning with Government’s Exhibit 1. Defense exhibits shall be labelled sequentially beginning with Defense Exhibit A. Case: 3:20-cr-00008-RAM-GAT Document #: 56 Filed: 10/01/21 Page 2 of 2