Stephens filed several motions to continue his trial date, the first of which was filed and granted on June 7, 2002. The court continued the trial date until September 16, 2002. On August 27, 2002, Stephens again moved for an "ends of justice" continuance of the trial date, but the district court denied the motion the following day. Then, on September 10, 2002, Stephens gave notice that he intended to rely on an insanity defense and filed a motion for a competency hearing, along with his third motion for a continuance. The district court granted both motions the next day and ordered that Stephens be committed to the custody of the attorney general for psychiatric and psychological testing. According to Stephens, he did not arrive at the FederalMedical Center in Fort Worth, Texas until 29 days later, on October 10, 2002. Over the next six months, four extensions of time were granted to the Federal Medical Center, ultimately extending the deadline for the completion of Stephens's mental evaluation to April 25, 2003. Stephens's competency hearing took place on July 31, 2003, and at the end of the hearing, the district court scheduled a jury trial for October 27, 2003. After receiving the parties' post-hearing briefs, the district court ruled on August 22, 2003 that Stephens was competent to stand trial. The government immediately filed a motion to transfer custody of Stephens, which was granted on August 27, 2003.


8
On October 8, 2003, Stephens filed two motions: one to dismiss the indictment due to a Speedy Trial