Status conference set for Oct. 25 in Corrine Brown, Ronnie Simmons trial

Rep. Corrine Brown and her chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, are staring down 24 counts for fraud and misrepresentation related to the One Door for Education charity.

And now, they are staring down a status conference, slated for Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. at Jacksonville’s federal courthouse.

Neither Brown nor Simmons have to attend.

Counsel for the defendants and prosecutors have already agreed to push the trial back to February 2017, with defense counsel noting the voluminous discovery burden — encompassing 77,000 pages of documents.

While defense lawyers agree on the proposed trial commencement term, there may be divergence on strategy.

Simmons’ lawyer, Anthony Suarez, has noted the very good likelihood of a plea deal being the final resolution of the case.

Brown’s lawyer, James Smith, is opposed to such a plea deal.

More will be learned Oct. 25, if not before then, in a trial that has been flush with procedural moves but bereft of meaningful progress since the July 6 indictment was served.