United States v. Philip E. Watson and Shane E. O'Hearn

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This interlocutory appeal arrives on our doorstep following the district court’s denial of a brink-of-trial continuance which, according to the prosecution, was necessitated by an Executive Branch faux pas de deux. The threshold question is one of first impression: Does the Criminal Appeals Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3731, afford jurisdiction to review the specific orders issued by the district court? Concluding that the orders appealed from are not within the purview of that statute, we answer this question in the negative and dismiss the government’s appeal.

In order to place the…