Trials & Litigation
Dismissed! Lack of CA Judges Ends Cases
Posted Oct 16, 2007, 12:59 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Two California criminal cases were dismissed yesterday in Riverside County because of a lack of judges. And seven more—all of them felonies—appeared headed for the same conclusion today.
Charges were immediately refiled by prosecutors concerning the one felony case dismissed yesterday, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. And the same result presumably is likely if felony cases are dismissed today. However, prosecutors can refile a felony only once, so sooner or later, cases could be conclusively dismissed if the county's shortage of judges isn't resolved.
Meanwhile, a misdemeanor case of driving under the influence apparently is not being pursued after yesterday's dismissal, according to the newspaper.
There is a backlog of more than 1,200 criminal cases awaiting trial. With only about 35 judges on duty yesterday, simple math shows that the issue isn't likely to be resolved in the near future.
"We had thought we would have dismissals in April or May. The fact that we didn't is a testament to the work ethic of our judges," says Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios J. Hernandez II, the supervising judge for the criminal division in downtown Riverside.
Riverside County Superior Court Presiding Judge Richard T. Fields agrees that judges have done everything they could to avoid dismissing cases. "We have every single courtroom filled," he says. "We have sent jurors to the Banning Court as late as 4:30 p.m. to start a trial."