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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 1
Charity Shreve
Attorneys’ Business Address
City, ST ZIP Code
Phone | Fax
Email
Attorney for Defendant
COURT NAME
JURISDICTION
STATE OF UTAH,
Plaintiff,
vs.
DEFENDANT’S NAME,
Defendant
Case No.: Number
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S
MOTION TO CONTINUE THE JURY
TRIAL
NOTICE OF MOTION
You are hereby notified that on _________________ (Date), at ________ (Time), or as soon
thereafter as the Defendant can be heard, in Courtroom ____ of the [Insert Name of Court]
courthouse at [Insert Courthouse’s Address], the Defendant will bring on for hearing his Motion
for Reconsideration of Order Denying Defendant’s Motion to Continue the Jury Trial. It will be
based on this Notice of Motion, the attached Motion for Reconsideration, and the arguments and
evidence presented during the hearing.
Dated this ____ day of July, 2022.
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 2
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________________________
Charity Shreve,
Attorney for Defendant
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 3
Charity Shreve
Attorneys’ Business Address
City, ST ZIP Code
Phone | Fax
Email
Attorney for Defendant
COURT NAME
JURISDICTION
STATE OF UTAH,
Plaintiff,
vs.
DEFENDANT’S NAME,
Defendant
Case No.: Number
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S
MOTION TO CONTINUE THE JURY
TRIAL
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
NOW COMES [Insert Defendant’s Name], through his undersigned counsel, and files
this Motion for Reconsideration of Order denying Defendant’s Motion to Continue the Jury
Trial, and for cause would show this Honorable Court as follows:
A. RELEVANT PROCEDURAL HISTORY
1. On January 25, 2019, the State filed three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a
child against the Defendant. The case was filed alongside another one with similar charges in
Tooele County.
2. At the Defendant’s initial appearance before this Court, he was found to be
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 4
indigent and Todd Utzinger was appointed to represent him. The matter was set for the pretrial
conference while it tracked the Tooele county case.
3. In March 2020, Covid-19 became a worldwide pandemic and the case was
continued. The case was set for jury trial but there were further continuances.
4. On November 24, 2021, Ms. Charity Shreve was appointed the Defendant’s
public defender. The case was set for a four-day jury trial beginning August 15, 2022.
5. On July 13, 2022, this Court held a pretrial conference in which the Defendant’s
attorney requested a continuance of the trial. This Court denied the Motion to Continue the Jury
Trial. The Defendant seeks an order reconsidering the order that denied his Motion to Continue
the Jury Trial.
B. STANDARD OF REVIEW OF MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION AND
POSSIBLE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
6. This Court should reconsider its order denying the Defendant’s motion to
continue the jury trial because it will lead to an irreparable injustice to the Defendant in
consideration of his attorney’s circumstances.
7. The Defendant’s attorney, Ms. Shreve, served as a public defender in Salt Lake
County for more than 12 years. She took a three-year break to focus on taking care of her young
children. Prior to taking up the Defendant’s case in November, Ms. Shreve had taken only one
case.
8. When the current trial was set, Ms. Shreve had only appeared in court for a few
weeks and was yet to fully appreciate how the pandemic has changed the practice of law. She
was relying on past experience.
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 5
9. Ms. Shreve spends a lot of time trying to communicate with clients. Law and
motion calendars are held on video. She finds it difficult to build rapport with clients over the
web and many have missed personal appointments.
10. Ms. Shreve has been unable to find child care for her young children, especially
with the current strain of Covid-19. Before the pretrial conference, she had a conversation with
her supervisor and additional funding was made available to hire a second chair. Ms. Shreve
tried to contact seven attorneys to be her second chair but none of them was available.
11. While a case remains pending before the district court prior to any appeal, the
parties are bound by the court’s prior decision, but the court remains free to reconsider that
decision. It may do so sua sponte or at the suggestion of one of the parties…. As long as the case
has not been appealed and remanded, reconsideration of an issue before a final judgment is
within the sound discretion of the district court. Gillett v. Price, 135 P.3d 861, 864 2006 UT 24.
See also, Ron Shepherd Insurance v. Shields, 61 882 P.2d 650, 653 n.4 (Utah 1994) and Watkiss
& Campbell v. Foa, 808 P.2d 1061, 1064-65 (Utah 1991); Davis v. Grand County Service Area,
905 P.2d 888, 891 (Utah Ct. App.1995); Bonneville Billing v. Torres, 15 P.3d 112, 113-14, 2000
UT App 338; IHC Health Servs., Inc. v. D & K Mgmt., Inc., 2008 UT 73, ¶ 27, 196 P.3d 588.
12. Courts can consider several factors in whether to review a prior ruling: if the
matter is presented in a “different light” or under “different circumstances;” if there has been a
change in the governing law; if a party offers new evidence; if “manifest injustice” will result if
the court does not reconsider the prior ruling; if the court needs to correct its own error; or if an
issue was inadequately briefed when first contemplated by the court. Colony Insurance v. Human
Ensemble, 2013 UT App. 68, ¶ 5-7; Trembly v. Mrs. Fields Cookies, 884 P.2d 1306, 1311 (Utah
Ct. App. 1994); Cope v. Utah Valley State College, Id. (same). See also State v. O’Neil, 848 P.2d
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 6
694, 697 n.2 (Utah Ct. App. 1993); Salt Lake City Corp. v. James Constructors, 761 P.2d 42, 44
(Utah Ct. App. 1988).
13. This Court should view the Defendant’s request to continue the jury trial in a
different light in regard to the above circumstances. Manifest injustice will occur to the
Defendant as his attorney of record is not ready to proceed to trial in August 2022. The reasons
outlined in ¶ 7-10 of this Motion will prevent Ms. Shreve from providing effective assistance of
counsel to the Defendant during the trial.
14. Ms. Shreve’s workload is too much. The Defendant is not the only accused person
she is representing. She requires more time to find a second chair to help her prepare for the
Defendant’s trial.
15. To prove ineffective assistance of counsel, defendant must show: (1) that
counsel’s performance was objectively deficient, and (2) a reasonable probability exists that but
for the deficient conduct defendant would have obtained a more favorable outcome at trial. State
v. Crosby, 927 P.2d 638, 644 (Utah 1996); see also Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687
(1984) (requiring that defendant show counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficient
performance prejudiced the case).
16. Ineffective assistance of counsel has not yet occurred but will happen if this Court
fails to grant the Defendant’s Motion to Continue the Jury Trial.
17. Ms. Shreve will perform deficiently in representing the Defendant as she will be
forced to go to trial unprepared due to her circumstances and the lack of second chair counsel to
help her prepare for and litigate on behalf of the Defendant.
18. However, the deficiency can be prevented at this stage by granting the
Defendant’s Motion to Continue the Jury Trial to allow Ms. Shreve more time to find second
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MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE
JURY TRIAL – 7
chair counsel and to prepare effectively for the Defendant’s trial.
C. PRAYER FOR RELIEF
REASONS WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, the Defendant respectfully
requests this Honorable Court to GRANT this Motion for Reconsideration of Order Denying
Defendant’s Motion to Continue the Jury Trial, GRANT the Defendant’s Motion to Continue the
Jury Trial; and grant a ____ days’ continuance of the jury trial.
Dated this ____ day of July, 2022.
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________________________
Charity Shreve,
Attorney for Defendant
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