DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT ON SPEEDY TRIAL GROUNDS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE UNAVAILABILITY OF A WITNESS AND THE RELATED ADJOURNMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO THE PEOPLE (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department, reversing County Court, determined defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment on speedy trial grounds should not have been granted. The delay attributed to the unavailability of a witness and the related adjournment should not have been charged to the People:
We agree with the People that a witness’s one-day unavailability while her father is undergoing heart surgery is an excludable delay that was “occasioned by exceptional circumstances” … . Moreover, the ensuing 21-day adjournment until February 2, 2017 was attributable to the court and not chargeable to the People … , inasmuch as the People had requested a one-day adjournment and “any period of an adjournment in excess of that actually requested by the People is excluded” … . People v Barnett, 2018 NY Slip Op 00968, Fourth Dept 2-9-18
CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT ON SPEEDY TRIAL GROUNDS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE UNAVAILABILITY OF A WITNESS AND THE RELATED ADJOURNMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO THE PEOPLE (FOURTH DEPT))/SPEEDY TRIAL (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT ON SPEEDY TRIAL GROUNDS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE UNAVAILABILITY OF A WITNESS AND THE RELATED ADJOURNMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO THE PEOPLE (FOURTH DEPT))