Stanford trial delay is denied
HOUSTON — U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected a request to further postpone the trial of former billionaire R. Allen Stanford , who is accused of swindling investors out of $7 billion.
“The public's interest in a speedy trial is particularly acute in such a case as this in which thousands of investors allegedly purchased CDs from Stanford under false pretenses and subsequently lost billions of dollars,” Hittner said in the ruling, issued Wednesday. “This trial will decide not just whether Stanford is guilty of the criminal charges, but also whether hundreds of millions of dollars of investor funds currently frozen may be forfeited and returned to his alleged victims.”
Jury selection will begin Jan. 23.
Stanford's government-appointed lawyers had claimed Stanford suffered brain damage in a jailhouse attack that rendered him unable to assist in his own defense. His original trial date last January was postponed so the defendant could undergo a series of evaluations at a federal prison hospital.