In the largest, busiest counties there has been a break-through toward handling this crush of cases but still providing justice for all involved.  They’re called Specialty Courts.  For years, special types of cases like mental health, and probate have been handled in specialty courts.  Recently, in my county, two specialty courts have been established:  Drug Court and Driving While Intoxicated Court.  There are three reasons why this development is beneficial for everyone.

1.  Efficiency.  In Drug Court, for instance, the only cases heard are drug possession cases.  Everything is set up for these types of cases so the proceedings can move quickly.  Since each case is similar to others, the volume of cases heard is much greater.  The judges and lawyers working in these courts become experts in this area of the law and can make decisions quicker.

2.  Resources.  Instead of requiring the defendants to go to several resources located in different areas, all resources are in the courtroom.  It’s a lot like “one-stop” shopping.  It’s so much easier for the defendants so their cooperation and success are much higher.

3.  Justice.  The main purpose of these courts is not necessarily punishment.  Instead, it’s rehabilitation.  Here’s an example from the DWI Court.  Although there are consequences for illegal and dangerous behavior, the idea is if the defendant an be drug/alcohol free, they won’t re-offend—which eliminates yet another case from clogging-up the system.  For obvious reasons, this is good for everyone.  The specialty courts promise the offender a clean record—if they take care of their chemical issues and don’t re-offend.

There were critics, initially, of these specialty courts, but their record of success has been overwhelming.  It’s worked to speed up the court system while still providing justice to everyone.

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The police captured and charged a suspect right away.  but now, ten months later, the case has still not gone to trial.  Antonio is still waiting for justice..

Why the long delay?  Here are four reasons:

1.  Even if a suspect is charged, the prosecutor may want to conduct more investigation.  Usually, this will strengthen their case against the suspect.  And the prosecutors are will to delay the case in order to have a better change for a conviction.

2.  In all urban areas, the courts are packed more than ever.  Criminal cases get preference over other cases, but the courts are still swamped.  Some types of cases move to specialized calendars like property crimes, drug court, and traffic offenses.  Hopefully, that leaves more judges available for serious criminal cases.  Even so, the crowding causes delays in court that can’t be avoided.

3.  The defense lawyers may want to delay the court case.  Like the prosecutor, they need time to fully investigate the case.  Under the rules of court, the accused person also has rights—including the right to delay the case.  The defense lawyers may hope the witnesses against their clients forgot what they saw—which helps the suspect.

4.  There’s a shortage of judges, prosecutors, and Public Defenders.  They all have huge caseloads which slow-down the system.  If the suspect in Antonio’s case had a PD who carried dozens of cases, the lawyer would put the case at the end of a long line of previous cases.  Our constitution requires the suspect get the full and competent attention of his lawyer.  Obviously this causes another delay in court.

In spite of all these realities, Antonio still waits for justice.  It isn’t fair, is it??

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