Lawmakers propose to suspend right to speedy trial over COVID backlog
COVID-19 has created a massive backlog in Georgia’s criminal courts, and lawmakers are proposing to allow judges to temporarily suspend a defendant’s right to a speedy trial under state law.
The proposal aims to avoid a rush of requests for a speedy trial once court proceedings get back to a pre-pandemic pace. That could create tough choices for some judges who might have to give up prosecution of some cases if they are overwhelmed with demands from defendants and their attorneys.
On March 14, 2020, Georgia Chief Justice Harold D. Melton signed a statewide judicial emergency order suspending jury trials. He has extended that order every 30 days since then, but in his latest extension Melton held out hope that a decline in the number of cases along with the state’s vaccine rollout will allow jury trials to resume next month.
“If things continue to show themselves as favorable, barring any setbacks, our hope is to open up jury trials in our March order,” Melton said in a remote emergency meeting last Monday with members of the Georgia Judicial Council.
Read more: https://georgiarecorder.com/2021/02/23/lawmakers-propose-to-suspend-right-to-speedy-trial-over-covid-backlog/