“Justice delayed is justice denied!”
“Justice delayed is justice denied!”
“When we fight, we win!”
“When we fight, we win!”
The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy trial. Last Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Officials had to toss out 70 misdemeanor cases, because the court failed to try them in a timely manner.
Court staff, like Deputy Court Clerk Rodrigo Lopez, say a high caseload volume and short staffing are making it difficult for them to do their job.
“You know, right now we talk about getting more police, more sheriffs hired, but nobody ever talks about the courtroom. We need people in the courtroom to be able to process those cases in a timely manner. And the community and people who get arrested have a judicial, a constitutional right for a speedy trial. And because our courtrooms are backlogged, their rights are being violated.”
Union representatives were supposed to meet with management this week to discuss the Governor’s new budget and upcoming contract negotiations, but the meeting was unexpectedly canceled late Tuesday.
Benjamin Thompson has worked at the court since 2007. He spoke to the crowd during Wednesday’s rally.
“HR as, as far as I know, has not gotten back to us yet, so we don't really know what's going on at this point. But we are out here just to show that we are ready for whatever comes and that we know what this court needs to run because we are the ones that run this court. We're the ones that run this court. [...] We are the grease to keep the wheels going.”
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted courtroom schedules across the country. But Deputy Clerk Rob Borders says San Francisco has been blaming delays on the pandemic for too long.
“I worked in another county during COVID, and, you know, there were trial delays, but they were able to get back onto schedule within, you know, half a month to, you know, six to 10 months they were back on schedule. Here they're using the COVID pandemic as a reason up until 2023.”
Of the 70 misdemeanor cases that were tossed out last week, some involved DUI’s, domestic violence, and sexual assault. The victims in those cases have expressed anger and disappointment at being denied their day in court.
