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Law360 (June 1, 2020, 3:45 PM EDT ) A California federal judge on Monday delayed attorney Michael Avenatti's embezzlement trial by three months, setting a Dec. 8 criminal jury trial while acknowledging the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis makes it difficult to predict with any certainty if that date will stick.
Avenatti's trial had already been delayed from May to August, and U.S. District Judge James Selna said during a teleconference with attorneys from both sides and Avenatti that any number of situations could further impact the trial date.
"No one can predict with certainty, but there is probably a high likelihood that we will be able to proceed in manner that addresses everyone's concerns about the logistics and the mechanics of a trial," the judge said.
The judge added, "That's obviously subject to changes of conditions in the United States, subject to further guidance from the Ninth Circuit, which has provided some, and further guidance from the United States Judicial Conference and the administrative offices of the court. But I think we should put the case on a track that gets that done. That means that people need to get down to business."
Avenatti is charged in California with embezzling client funds. He was found guilty in a separate New York case in February of extorting Nike, and he is facing another federal prosecution in New York for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to high-profile client Stormy Daniels from her book deal.
Judge Selna in April ordered Avenatti released from a Manhattan detention center and granted the embattled lawyer a 90-day reprieve from jail amid the coronavirus outbreak. Avenatti, 49, was released on $1 million bond to a Venice, California, residence where he is subject to electronic monitoring and other restrictions.
During the teleconference, Judge Selna appeared to split the difference between what the government requested and Avenatti wanted for a trial date at the federal court in Santa Ana.
Prosecutor Julian L. Andre asked Judge Selna to push the trial to September, while Avenatti had asked for either a February 2021 date or for the August date to be vacated and for the judge to wait until August to reschedule.
Andre said the government objected to both of Avenatti's requests and argued that waiting to reschedule until August would also lead to a 2021 trial date.
"There are victims in this case, and those victims have statutory rights to proceedings without unnecessary delay," Andre said. "They have been waiting for their day in court for a long time now."
Andre also asked the judge to schedule "the first possible date the court believes it will be able to hold a trial."
In a filing to the court ahead of the conference, Avenatti's attorney, H. Dean Steward, advocated for a later trial date and stated the numerous reasons COVID-19 had slowed trial preparation, including his own health concerns of being 68 years old with diabetes. Steward did not object to the Dec. 8 trial date after Judge Selna set it.
The government is represented by Julian L. Andre and Brett A. Sagel of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
Avenatti is represented by H. Dean Steward.
The case is U.S. v. Avenatti, case number 8:19-cr-00061, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
--Additional reporting by Lauren Berg, Stewart Bishop, Emma Cueto and Pete Brush. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
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