DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
DIVISION OF ST. CROIX 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
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v. 
 
 
 
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Criminal Action No. 2004-0005 
 
 
 
 
 
 
) 
KALISHA MARTIN, et al.,  
 
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Defendants.  
 
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____________________________________) 
Attorney: 
Alessandra P. Serano, Esq., 
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I 
 
For the United States 
 
ORDER  
 
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the “Government’s Motion to Dismiss,” 
wherein the Government “requests that the Superseding Indictment . . . in this matter be dismissed 
without prejudice as to [Kalisha Martin] in the interest of justice.” (Dkt. No. 1475). No response 
has been filed to the Government’s Motion.  
Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 48(a), “[t]he government may, with leave of court, dismiss an 
indictment, information, or complaint.” The amount of discretion that a court may exercise under 
Rule 48(a) is limited. See Rinaldi v. United States, 434 U.S. 22, 29 n.15 (1977). Indeed, “[a] court 
is generally required to grant a prosecutor's Rule 48(a) motion to dismiss unless dismissal is clearly 
contrary to manifest public interest.” In re Richards, 213 F.3d 773, 787 (3d Cir. 2000) (internal 
quotation and citation omitted). Rule 48(a) dismissals are customarily granted without prejudice, 
thus permitting the government to reindict the defendant within the statute of limitations. United 
States v. Galloway, 2013 WL 4712042, at *1 (D.V.I. Aug. 30, 2013) (citing United States v. 
Raineri, 42 F.3d 36, 43 (1st Cir. 1994)).  
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The Court finds that dismissal is appropriate here, as there is no evidence in the record to 
suggest that dismissal would be “clearly contrary to manifest public interest.” Richards, 213 F.3d 
at 787. 
UPON CONSIDERATION of the foregoing, it is hereby 
ORDERED that the “Government’s Motion to Dismiss” (Dkt. No. 1475) is GRANTED; 
and it is further  
 
ORDERED that the Superseding Indictment (Dkt. No. 544) is DISMISSED WITHOUT 
PREJUDICE as to Defendant Kalisha Martin.  
SO ORDERED.  
Date: July 2, 2020             
 
 
 
 
_______/s/_______  
WILMA A. LEWIS  
Chief Judge 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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