Why does this freaks trial keep getting held back?! PLEASE HELP!?

Question

What does this mean?? Deft waives speedy trial demand. This guy was drunk, and did a hit and run killing my boyfriends mom. He has 5 counts aggravated dui/great bodily harm and aggravated dui/death of another. How much time do you think he will do? He's had a couple felonies before but not DUIs, he wasn't even 21 at the time he did it either!! Need some input please!

I think there has been about 5 pre trial hearings, the trial was supposed to be in jan, then feb, then march, now april. it is really pissing me off

Answer 1

The Constitution guarantees a right to a speedy trial. In practice, that usually means a trial within about 6-8 months of being charged and arraigned.

However, that can get extended for a variety of reasons. But if the defendant does not consent, the case can be dismissed if it drags on too long.

From what you said, the defendant waived his rights to a speedy trial, meaning that he consented to longer delays.

As long as he and his attorney consent to delays, the case may drag on for years before ever coming to trial.

Answer 2

My Sincerest Condolences to your B-friend & Family, as I attempt to place some understanding to your question.
When a Defendant waives His Right to Speedy Trial as Imposed on the States by and thru the Constitution of the United States, It's usually done to give the Defendants Attorney more time to prepare for His Clients Defense. The Attorney will most likely plead the case down to a lesser charge of Vehicular Manslaughter in exchange for a lessor and/or lighter sentence in order to keep from going to trial. Be advised that the Families can all ban together and object to any plea agreement, and demand trial. However, the District Attorney does have the final say. BUT, remember that come election day. Because I'm not privy to the pertinent info in this case I can only make an educated guess as to how much time the Court may give verses the time He may actually spend incarcerated as once the Judge passes Judgement, the amount of time is ultimately determined by the Prisons Parole Board in most States. I'm thinking 15 yr. sentence and maybe 7-8 in actual prison. I know it's not a good feeling to know this but, Welcome to the world of the Criminal Justice System.
Respectfully;
GOD BLESS/GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 3

It's very typical for a person to waive his speedy trial rights. In fact, it's done in 95% of cases. In California, a person can go to trial in as little as 72 days on a felony. But that's really not much time at all. Most people waive time because it takes months and months for the defense to do a proper investigation. Additionally, DAs offices sort of have this policy whereby the plea deals get worse after the preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing can happen in as little as 12 days after the person is arrested. As such, keeping the preliminary hearing off for as long as possible may allow the defendant to think long and hard about the deal and whether he can really win at trial and keeps the deal open for as long as possible.

In my opinion, defendants in cases that they can't possibly win often times need time to come to reality. A good DA knows this and will allow a defendant to come to his senses. DAs do not have the time to take every case to trial, so allowing a defendant to come to his senses means that DAs can take to trial only those cases that need to go to trial. Otherwise, the courts would become completely jamed and the justice system would grind to a halt.

Additionally, defendants have rights, too. Defendants have the right to a trial that has been investigated properly by the defendant's attorney. In fact, the Constitution gives more rights to defendants than to the government. And there are good reasons for it. We protect the innocent but also protect the guilty. If defendants had no rights, many innocent people would fall through the cracks (and still do, for that matter). Pulling the truth out takes time.

Also, if experts are needed, this causes more delay, because, while private attorneys have nasty schedules, the schedules of experts are even worse. As such, to get everyone together is often impossible. Everyone's schedules have to be taken into account.

Additionally, where you have a nasty felony, where someone is killed, the court will give the attorneys a lot of leway. When the consequences are great, the courts want to do the trial right. If they don't, when the case is appealed, the appellate attorney and the appeals court will scrutinize every little thing the court and the attorneys did. If something wasn't done right, the conviction might get overturned.

One of the things that the people require is certainty that the accused is guilty once a trial takes place. And jury decisions are virtually never questioned. So once a trial is done, convictions are rarely overturned unless something bad occurred at the trial. Courts take a slow approach to make sure everything is done right. If they don't, they get burned.

Also, if I played the odds, I'd say that the defendant in your case won't go to trial. Most cases never do. Of course, if the deal proposed by the DA is just as bad as the consequences of going to trial, the defendant will likely go to trial (and I would recommend just that). The offer is probably a lot of years in prison and a person takes a long time to wrap his head around that. Once he does, he may decide to take a deal. You may walk into court one day and be surprised that the defendant pleads to something. It'll happen just like that.

One should note that a trial isn't a sure bet even with the best evidence and a DUI isn't as clear cut as one would think. The defendant might have one hell of a defense. Moreover, since he wasn't caught at the scene, much of the evidence might be circumstantial. As such, I wouldn't be that anxious for this to go to trial asap.

Sometimes it takes a couple years before a nasty case comes to trial. Sometimes even longer. It sounds like the case has only gone to hearing a few times. Nothing goes on at these hearings except setting some dates. What you don't hear or see is the wrangling behind the scenes. The DA and the defense attorney are negotiating, but the defense attorney is trying to educate his client at the same time. Moreover, the defense attorney is doing some research and investigating the case. Hours of work is being put in this case, but you don't see that at the hearings where it seems like things are just getting delayed. And, again, part of the delay is because the defendant doesn't see reason yet.

You should also understand that a life is at stake here. One has been taken, of course, but the defendant's life is important, too. Despite his shortcomings and obvious substance abuse problems, he probably has a family that loves him. While he put this on himself, a lot of upheaval has been placed into his life and the lives of his innocent family. The courts should be patient about this to ensure that the right thing is done. The wheels of justice are slow to be sure. And they don't always do what's right. But, if the wheels were faster, they would probably do right less often.

Answer 4

Most felonies require arraignment within 14 days, then a preliminary exam within the next 14 days. It will take at least a month just to decide if there's enough for a trial (sounds like it will). After that, there are usually two pre-trial hearings where they try to cut a deal. It's not unusual to go 6-12 months before trial.

Answer 5

Well, all depends on how well the prosecutor can prove that he is still a danger to others, or if this will be an isolated instance. Dig and see what else you can find on him. The more dirt, the better the chances that he'll be put away for longer. Just don't compromise yourself in the meantime.
Good luck, and I am so sorry for your loss....

Answer 6

His lawyer is submitting motions to slow the process down. I believe it is a tactic to get the charges reduced, hoping that eventually if they wait long enough, they will just want to just close the case.

Have you tried to speak to the prosectors to find out exactly what is going on?

Answer 7

I'm sorry for your boyfriends loss, and if it were up to me this guy would have been dead after his first assault. But its sad to say that we no longer have a justice system, now its just a legal system.