Judge Dora Irizarry
Kurti was among more than 56 defendants indicted for drugs trafficking and money laundering under a July 7, 2011, superseding indictment. When arraigned on Sept. 7, he was serving a 23-year federal sentence. His Aug. 17 motionalleging violation of his right to a speedy trialwas submitted at a Dec. 8, 2011, status conference. The court determined Kurti was re-litigating issues raised in his Aug. 17 dismissal motion, which it denied. Thus it construed the Dec. 8 motion as seeking reconsideration. The court denied dismissal. Recounting the charges against Kurti and his codefendantsdating to 1999the court deemed the multi-defendant case complex such that pretrial delay was excludable from the 70-day speedy trial clock under 18 USC §3161(h)(7)(B)(ii). Discussing the four Barker v. Wingo factors outlined in United States v. Vassell, the court found Kurti’s Sixth Amendment speedy trial right not violated. In light of the number of defendants, complexity and number of charges, and the amount and complexity of evidence, the court found Kurti did not show the delay "presumptively prejudicial." Further, given that he was already imprisoned before indictment, Kurti could not argue that his pretrial detention amounted to oppressive incarceration.
