There is an Act called the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 under federal law. 18 USC §§ 3161-3174. The statutes require a trial within 70 days unless the defendant asks for longer. Having been Court appointed in a federal case in 1984, I became familiar with this. In the Penn Square Bank litigation in 1984, many (especially defense lawyers) were surprised when the principal defendant (Bill Patterson) had a crafty lawyer that insisted on the 70 days and surprised the US Attorney. The trial was short, and resulted in a quick verdict for defendant. You may remember that BP was a high flying energy lender that required borrowers to wear Mickey Mouse ears and drink bourbon from a cowboy boot to consummate the loan. He lent money to many that were not qualified.
So, I think the August date is the judge following the law until PDJT asks for a delay. He will, and it will happen. The lawyer in me says that perhaps Jack Smith ought to put up, or shut up in August. I think he would be stunned about the rapidity. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, with expected pre-trial motions about the Constitution, Presidential Records Act, classification powers, and briefing on applicable laws, there are likely to be many delays.
I once had a case where I knew we would file and the other side would throw several lawyers at it, and be able to outwork me. So, I prepped several hundred hours of briefs to counter what I thought they would raise prior to filing. They assigned four lawyers to it, and at the end of the 9 month from filing to settlement, I had outworked them by three hours. They were closing the gap very fast. I hope the lawyers for PDJT have been prepping for months since Smith was appointed.
Gwjack
Bear in mind that he hasn’t been able to keep attorneys for too long.