FILED
in the Middle District of
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT North Carolina
May 21, 2020
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
2/9/2024
9:30
2:29a.m.
pm
Clerk, US District Court
By: __________
KMjsb
RE: CRIMINAL CASE )
MANAGEMENT ) STANDING ORDER NO. # 20
)
This Order memorializes certain practices in place for management of criminal cases
and provides notice to the public, defendants, and defense counsel of those practices. The
Court can modify these practices as appropriate for a particular case.
ARRAIGNMENTS
Arraignments will generally be scheduled and conducted by Magistrate Judges unless a
Defendant intends to plead guilty at arraignment, in which case defense counsel shall notify the
Magistrate Judge’s case manager so that the arraignment can be scheduled before the District
Judge during a regular criminal term.
Arraignment on a superseding indictment ordinarily will be held before the District
Judge if the case is already scheduled for a monthly term of court. The filing of a superseding
indictment does not automatically continue a case to the next term of court.
SCHEDULING ORDERS
Upon arraignment, counsel shall inform the court of necessary information about
scheduling, including general information about discovery, and counsel shall address Speedy
Trial Act compliance. Ordinarily, cases will be set for resolution at the monthly criminal term
beginning approximately 6 weeks to 10 weeks from arraignment, but the parties may request
an earlier or later term based on the amount of discovery, co-defendant trial dates, or other
appropriate reason. After hearing from the parties, the Magistrate Judge will set the case for a
monthly criminal term, making appropriate findings as to the Speedy Trial Act if necessary,
and the Clerk will enter the Scheduling Order for that term. The Scheduling Order will
contain the reminder of prosecutorial obligations required by Fed.R.Crim.P. 5(f) and the Due
Process Protection Act. All criminal term Scheduling Orders will be posted on the court
website.
CRIMINAL TERMS OF COURT
Cases are placed on calendars for resolution during monthly criminal terms. The
parties shall comply with the Scheduling Order governing that term of court. When a case is
continued, it will be placed on the calendar for the monthly criminal term ordered or, when
appropriate for reasons of efficiency, fairness, or in the interests of justice, on a date certain as
ordered by the presiding judge. If a case will be extraordinarily complex so that it should be
overseen by one judge, a party shall move for such assignment early in the proceedings and the
motion will be referred to the Chief Judge. If the Chief Judge grants the motion, the court will
set a hearing to establish deadlines specific to that case.
GUILTY PLEAS
If the Government intends to make a written plea offer, it shall do so promptly. The
Court requires written plea agreements if there are any agreements or promises made as part of
a plea bargain.
When the indictment contains provisions providing notice to the Defendant that the
Government will seek forfeiture of property as part of any sentence, the Government has the
responsibility to address this at the time a guilty plea is entered, either in a written plea
agreement, by separate consent order specifying Defendant’s consent to forfeiture, by a motion
for order of forfeiture setting forth the specific property or money judgment pursuant to Fed. R.
Crim. P. 32.2, by noting the need for a trial, or by asking for dismissal. If the parties do not
advise the court of the Defendant’s position on forfeiture at the time of a guilty plea, the court
will not independently address forfeiture on its own motion and may at any point thereafter
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