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United States v. Zhou — granted an unopposed continuance and excluded the delay from the speedy-trial clock

Reported / Citable

Case
United States of America v. Zheng Miranda Zhou and Kun Bruce Lin
Court
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
Judge
Alfred H. Bennett
Date Decided
October 21, 2026
Docket No.
4:20-cr-00535
Topics
Speedy Trial Act; Continuance; Excludable Delay; Criminal Procedure

Background

The court considered an unopposed motion to continue the criminal proceedings against Zheng Miranda Zhou and Kun Bruce Lin. The order does not identify who filed the motion.

The court concluded that additional time was necessary for reasonable trial preparation and that denying a continuance would result in a miscarriage of justice.

The Court’s Holding

The court granted the unopposed motion for a continuance. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) and (B), it found that the ends of justice served by the continuance outweighed the public’s and the defendants’ interests in a speedy trial.

The court ordered the period beginning October 21, 2026, excluded from the speedy-trial calculation through the commencement of trial or disposition of the charges. It set a December 21, 2026 deadline for pretrial motions, listed January 11, 2026 as the response deadline, scheduled a pretrial conference for January 28, 2027, and set trial for February 1, 2027.

Key Takeaways

  • The court granted the unopposed continuance based on an ends-of-justice finding.
  • The excluded period runs from October 21, 2026 until trial begins or the charges are otherwise disposed of.
  • The order states that the continuance is necessary to permit reasonable trial preparation and avoid a miscarriage of justice.

Why It Matters

The order pauses the Speedy Trial Act clock while the case proceeds toward the newly scheduled trial date. Its express findings supply the statutory basis for treating the continuance period as excludable delay.

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