The next time the Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged in Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach appears in court in October, his lawyer will be expected to make a call on whether his client will go to trial or enter a plea in the nine-count criminal case.
The judge in the case said it’s already unlikely the defendant could go to trial by April 2023.
Joseph Lino “Jose” Padilla, 42, has been detained in a Washington, D.C., jail for the past 18 months as his case has dragged through several hearings and delays with little ground gained on a course of action, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates said Wednesday during a status hearing on the case
“We need to have a course in mind because I’m fearful that it’s languishing a little bit, so I’m going to be pressing to see where we’re headed,” Bates told Padilla and his attorney, Michael Cronkright, and prosecutors who were on hand for the hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas B. Brasher said Padilla’s lawyer had made his office aware of a couple of pending issues that needed to be addressed, but he said those issues can be resolved without further delays.