FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2024
PRESS CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office | pdr-mediarelations@sfgov.org
**PRESS RELEASE**
State Appellate Court Orders SF Superior Court to Dismiss Misdemeanor Case Due to Unlawful Trial Backlog
First Appellate Court decision opens door for dismissal of more than a hundred cases whose trials were unconstitutionally delayed months, years past mandated deadlines
SAN FRANCISCO — A state appellate court has found that the San Francisco Superior Court unlawfully delayed a misdemeanor trial for over a year using COVID-19 as an excuse, despite the fact that all pandemic-related emergency orders had long been lifted. The First Appellate District opinion, issued Monday, held that the Superior Court had gone “beyond its proper judicial role” and had “stepped into the shoes of the prosecution,” and ordered it to dismiss the case. The decision could lead to more than a hundred other cases being dismissed, and could also lead to reversals on appeal for defendants who were convicted after being deprived of their right to a speedy trial.
“The Superior Court’s use of COVID-19 as a reason to endlessly delay trials has always been unjust and harmful,” said Deputy Public Defender Oliver Kroll, who has worked on numerous petitions challenging the Superior Court’s trial backlog. “The Court let usable courtrooms sit empty and prioritized civil lawsuits while our clients waited in jail with charges hanging over their heads. After four years, we’re thankful that common sense has finally prevailed.”
The appellate court noted that it would “take the unusual step” of issuing Monday’s ruling as a “published” version because it wanted to create “binding precedent” that the Superior Court would be obliged to follow in potentially more than a hundred similar cases. Since the Superior Court reopened following COVID-19 closures in 2020, it delayed thousands of individuals’ trials, at its peak leaving more than 240 individuals languishing in jail past their speedy trial deadline in near-lockdown conditions. The San Francisco Public Defender’s office, along with several other community organizations, challenged these delays via litigation as well as public protests.
Prosecutors have, until recently, joined the Superior Court’s argument that COVID-19 was a viable reason to delay criminal cases months, even years, past individuals’ trial deadlines. Now, the appellate court noted this week, prosecutors “not only failed to satisfy their burden to demonstrate good cause for delay but actually concede there was no good cause.”
For more information about the San Francisco Superior Court backlog, please visit http://sfpublicdefender.dev.wp-testdomain.com/open-sf-courts-now.
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