This issue arises frequently.  I've been practicing criminal defense for twenty-five years, and often, for various reasons, I argue that the judge, the prosecutor, or both, are violating my client's right to a speedy trial.  And it doesn't just involve a trial.  It could also be related to the preliminary hearing.

The right to a speedy trial in Los Angeles is not just a legal technicality, but a crucial aspect of the legal system. It is a fundamental right guaranteed by both the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution. Defendants charged with a criminal offense in this city have the right to be informed of the charges against them in a timely manner.

If a defendant's right to a speedy trial has been violated due to an extensive delay, they can file a motion to dismiss based on a lack of speedy prosecution. Such a motion, commonly known as Serna motions after the 1985 California Supreme Court decision in Serna v. Superior Court, can lead to the dismissal of the case.

The Court ruled that an unjustified delay can constitute a violation of a defendant's Constitutional Right to a speedy trial and provide grounds for dismissal. In other words, you get prosecuted.  You're entitled to have a preliminary hearing within a certain amount of time on a felony case in Los Angeles.

Then, for whatever reason, prosecutors sometimes try to delay that.  Maybe they don't have all the evidence.  Perhaps the prosecutor prosecuting the case is on trial or attending another preliminary hearing, so they're trying to continue the case.  The defendant, for example, who is in custody, is saying, ' No, I don't want to continue the case. '  I want my preliminary hearing now.

Violation of Your Right To a Speedy Trial

So, you start to get into this speedy trial right issue, and the judge has to make decisions, obviously, based on the law as to whether or not your speedy trial right has been violated, and, therefore, the case must be dismissed.

The prosecutors can file a 1050 Motion, a formal request that states they have good cause to continue your case. The judge will then have to rule on whether the prosecutors indeed have good cause for the continuation.

For example, just because a prosecutor might not be available, the judge could say, 'Well, there are a thousand prosecutors in Los Angeles County.' '  Get another one.  Depending on the complexity of the case and the extent of discovery, this may or may not be a viable solution to the problem.

The judge plays a pivotal role in deciding whether to continue a case when a defendant asserts their right to a speedy trial.  The judge's decision on the duration of the continuation, whether it's for a day, a week, or a month, is crucial in the legal process.

So, that really starts to become an issue. You can also get a speed trial right with a defense flair. I've seen public defenders, for example, who aren't prepared on a case—they haven't reviewed all of the discovery—and maybe it's not their fault.

Perhaps it's simply because there's so much information; there's no way for them to digest it all, so they want more time, while their client wants them to have less time.  Their client wants to have a speedy trial.

Now, the judge must decide whether to continue the case to give the defense lawyer more time, as the client objects, saying, 'I want my trial now.'  I want my preliminary hearing now.  I'm not wasting time.

I'm not agreeing to it, and I've seen judges ignore the defendant and say, "No, your lawyer says they want time to prepare, so therefore, I'm going to continue the case.  " In the end, you'll force the lawyer, and then someone will claim that the lawyer wasn't prepared and, therefore, it's ineffective assistance to counsel.

Right to a Speedy Trial under the California State Constitution

You just can't win sometimes with these speedy trial motions.  Then, of course, the concept of speedy trials in Los Angeles also applies to trials.  Sometimes, someone will have their trial.  It will be the tenth of ten, meaning that's the last day to participate in the trial.

The defense will come in ready to go. Still, the prosecutor may, for example, request additional discovery on the case, ask to continue the case, or introduce new witnesses, which puts the defense attorney in a difficult position.

I had a case once in downtown Los Angeles.  It was a complicated murder case.  Obviously, all the marbles are on the line, and the case had been pending for over two years; we were ready to start the case.

We were ready to go to trial, and on the day we were scheduled to appear in the trial court, the prosecutors arrived, not just with a few pages of discovery, but with an entire box full of discovery. My client was upset because she wanted to start her trial.

There was also a co-defendant in the case.  He wanted to get his trial started.  So, I just told the judge, ' Listen, I don't care what's in that box. '  We're starting the trial, and if the prosecutor attempts to use any evidence from that box against my client, I will object because it has been over two years.

There's no way they couldn't have gotten this before.  The judge has just sent the case to the next court.  Once we entered the court, the prosecutor dismissed the case and then refiled it.  They could do that one time, and I ended up having to review the discovery.  The case went to trial, and it resulted in a hung jury, with eleven jurors finding the defendant not guilty and one finding them guilty. As a result, the prosecutors ended up dismissing the case.

Of course, I would have looked in the box and seen if there was anything to help my client, and I would have been ready to defend anything that didn't help my client. Still, the point illustrates how ridiculous it can be when these individuals are not on top of their game and mess around with the discovery, which can significantly impact someone's speedy trial.

So, you, as the defense attorney, and even you, as a defendant, have to be on top of this stuff—what evidence is available out there? Let's get it. Either file a motion for the judge to order the prosecutors to provide it, or obtain it from the police and submit it. Subpoena the information yourself.

Do whatever it takes to obtain that information so that you're prepared and don't violate someone's right to a speedy trial.

So, if you have a speedy trial right issue, and these things can crop up in many different ways, obviously, you want to do your research on it.  If you're looking to hire a lawyer, you want to sit down with one and review everything so you can truly understand what the speedy trial right means in Los Angeles.

You can also discuss what you can do as a defendant or the loved one of a defendant to make sure that you can assert every right possible and get the best outcome in your criminal case in Los Angeles. Contact our law firm for help.