Understaffed and Overworked, Are Minnesota Criminal Courts Falling Apart?
In Minnesota Criminal Courts, a defendant can request a speedy trial. This means the attorney will motion the court to make the case a priority and move it through the system faster. Speedy trial cases are to be heard within 60 days unless one of the parties can show good reason for delay. Recently, according to this article from the Pioneer Press, a criminal case was overturned due to a long drawn out wait when the defendant had requested a speedy trial. Tameca Griffin’s assault conviction was overturned by the court of appeals earlier this month. Griffin’s case was scheduled, canceled, and rescheduled 30 times between December 2006 and June 2007. The majority of these cancellations and delays were simply because other cases took priority and the courts just didn’t have time to get to her. Experts are concerned what this appeals decision may mean for future cases and what it says about the Minnesota criminal courts overall. There is no question that the courts are over burdened and un
