This is an honest question, and I’m not claiming to know ANYTHING about legal matters, so please don’t be condescending. I think what most people are wondering is why the judge would make the trial dates “final”, instead of leaving them “tentative”, if he is still undecided on the motion to dismiss. Perhaps you can explain the legal reason for this entry into the record in a way that will answer this question for people.
Not at all, it's a fair question. First, it's entered into the record because it was discussed in open court and - without reading the transcript from Monday - I believe that's what respective counsel agreed to with the judge.
As to it's relevance with respect to the MTD - there isn't any. The MTD is under advisement by the bench, so the "trial" continues on other fronts, to the extent that it can pending the decision on the MTD. In this instance, the continuation is just normal housekeeping.
When judges have a busy docket - as it appears Carter does - it's not at all unusual to give great deference to the court's (his) schedule. The court is just following it's SOP, irrespective of any pending motions. It's as simple as that.
As an aside, regardless of how a trial date is characterized as "final", it's never "final". Trial dates change from the "finalized" date all the time, both in state and federal court.