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October 7, 2014

By ECF

The Honorable Pamela K. Chen
United States District J udge
Eastern District of New York
United States Courthouse
225 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York 11201


Re: United States v. Michael Grimm
Criminal Docket No. 14-248 (PKC)

Dear J udge Chen:
As stated in a letter from the government dated October 7, 2014, both parties are
respectfully requesting that this Court employ a jury questionnaire to facilitate jury selection in the
instant matter. Due to Counsels previously announced trial schedule, the Thanksgiving and
Christmas holidays, recently revealed discovery in the form of tape recordings, and Mr. Grimms
upcoming election on November 4, 2014, the defendant respectfully asks that jury selection be
delayed just a few weeks and begin in early J anuary 2015.

At a status conference on September 2, 2014, the Court set a trial date of December 1,
2014. This date was chosen, in part, to avoid conflicts with the holidays, as the government
expects the trial to last approximately two weeks. This date was also selected prior to both parties
anticipating the use of juror questionnaires. The government is now asking that the jury selection
process be accelerated two weeks. In their letter, the government proposes a schedule that would
distribute the jury questionnaire to prospective jurors on November 17, 2014, with voir dire to
begin on December 1, 2014.

As indicated at the status conference, Mr. Rashbaum is set for trial in the Southern District
of Florida in Case No. 12-CV-21917. The matter is set to begin during the two-week trial period
of October 20, 2014. In the Southern District of Florida, a Court may start a trial at any time during
the two-week trial period. Therefore, it is possible that Mr. Rashbaums trial could commence in
late October. It is anticipated that Mr. Rashbaums trial in the Southern District of Florida will
last between two and four weeks. If the governments schedule is adopted by the Court, Mr.
Rashbaum may be unavailable to review juror questionnaires and participate in the jury selection
process.

MIAMI OFFICE FORT LAUDERDALE OFFICE
One Biscayne Tower One Financial Plaza
2 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 1750, Miami 33131 100 Southeast Third Avenue, Suite 805, Ft Lauderdale 33394

Case 1:14-cr-00248-PKC-RML Document 39 Filed 10/07/14 Page 1 of 3 PageID #: 152
Additionally, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays create practical and logistical
difficulties. For obvious reasons, selecting a fair and impartial jury in this case will take some
time. Starting the trial during this period further decreases the potential jury pool in that many
prospective jurors are unavailable because of travel and family obligations.

The government has also recently notified the defense that they will be providing additional
discovery in the form of audio tape recordings. The government has indicated its intention to
provide these recordings later this week. It is currently unknown how many hours of recorded
conversations will be provided. The government also has not provided the defense with any
information concerning what conversations were recorded and with whom. It is possible that
transcripts of the tape recordings will need to be made by the defense and these transcripts also
could take some time to prepare.
1
With the current trial schedule, the defense is concerned that it
may not be able to effectively use these transcripts at trial without additional time.

The upcoming election on November 4, 2014 makes the possibility of the defendant
receiving a fair and orderly trial at the currently scheduled dates unlikely. If the governments
proposed schedule is adopted by the Court, jurors will be asked to respond to a juror questionnaire
less than two weeks after the election. As mentioned at the status conference, political ads
featuring snippets of the United States Attorneys press conference announcing the indictment
along with selected portions of the indictment have been frequently airing on local television.
Additionally, many prospective jurors have received direct mailings to their home that negatively
portray Mr. Grimm. These television ads and direct mailings are certain to increase in frequency
as the election and, currently, the trial date approach.

Given the barrage of publicity surrounding the defendant, it is the Courts duty to protect
the defendant from inherently prejudicial publicity [that saturates] the community [. . .].
2
Given
the totality of the circumstances surrounding this case, adequate efforts to ensure that a jury has
avoided and will avoid the publicity of the trial will be required of this Court.
3
While it is unlikely
that potential jurors will ever be completely purged of the information surrounding the defendant
they have received from the media, a brief continuance will at least alleviate the effects on the
defendant.

Mr. Grimm further agrees to exclude any additional time under speedy trial.

Prior to the government filing their letter with the proposed schedule, all of these concerns
were raised with the government. For no stated reason, they opposed the defendants request. If
the trial is delayed until after the holidays, the government will not suffer any harm or prejudice.



1
The government has said it will be providing the defense with transcripts of the audio tapes, but
that the defense may not use the transcripts at trial.

2
United States v. Armone, 363 F.2d 385, 394 (2d Cir. 1966) quoting Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384
U.S. 333, 363 (1966).

3
See Sheppard, 384 U.S. at 353.
2


Case 1:14-cr-00248-PKC-RML Document 39 Filed 10/07/14 Page 2 of 3 PageID #: 153
The defense is asking for a delay of only one month. Given defense counsels previously
announced trial schedule, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the recently received tape
recordings, and the publicity surrounding the upcoming election, we respectfully ask the Court to
begin jury selection and trial in early J anuary 2015.





Respectfully submitted,




/s/ J effrey A. Neiman

J EFFREY A. NEIMAN
DANIEL L. RASHBAUM

Attorneys for Mr. Grimm



cc: Clerk of the Court (PKC)(by ECF)

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