How many shopping days left till Christmas, Don Hill? Dang, then we'd best hurry!
A couple of housekeeping items this morning, including the disappointing news of a scheduling change. You can cross January 20 off your calendar if you were planning on attending the trial of former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, wife Sheila Farrington, ex-City Plan Commissioner, D'Angelo Lee, low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik, his wife Cheryl Potashnik and the others indicted in the City Hall corruption case. Last week we mentioned a possible delay -- defense attorneys claimed scheduling conflicts; the government said, So? -- and on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn said, fine, June 22 it is. The full order follows, but this highlight first. --Robert Wilonsky
The Court ... finds that the following factors justify a continuance in this case: (1) the complexity of the case and the nature of the proof will require more time for trial preparation than a typical case, (2) the failure to continue the case would deny all counsel and the Government the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation for the existing January 20, 2009 trial date ... and (3) counsel for several parties have irreconcilable conflicts with the current trial date.