United States v. Hertz, No. 09-cr-00384-MSK, 2010 WL 447749 (D. Colo. Feb. 4, 2010) (slip copy)

Defendant, charged with having made telephone threats to a reproductive health services facility, requested, inter alia, that the court make a discretionary transfer of his change of plea hearing “for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interests of justice,” pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(b). In addressing defendant’s request, the court recognized that the adjudication of a motion for transfer under Rule 21(b) requires a consideration of many factors, including the convenience of the forum for the defendant and the rights of victims, under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771, to be present and heard at plea hearings. The court found that defendant failed to demonstrate that he would be inconvenienced by a denial of his transfer request, and that even if it “were to find some evidence of inconvenience to [defendant] … it would nevertheless find that such inconvenience would be significantly outweighed by the inconvenience to victims that would result if a transfer were granted.”