Waiting For Justice: Defendants Locked Up For Years Awaiting Trials, Sentencing

Speaker 1: 00:00 The Corona virus pandemic has shaken up the state's criminal justice system for months, courts were closed and many inmates were released early as the threat of COVID raged through prisons and jails, but there is also a fundamental problem facing the legal system. That's been around longer than the virus. It's the large number of people accused of crimes. Who've been left, waiting in jail for years for their day in court. And investigative report by Cal matters has found that there are more than 1200 people in this state who have been in jail for more than three years waiting for their trials to begin. One man accused of murder has been waiting in jail for his day in court for 12 years. Johnny Ms. Reporter Robert Lewis, author of the Cal matters report waiting for justice and Robert, welcome to the program. Thanks for having me. Is this a problem in jails and court systems throughout the state? Speaker 2: 00:56 It is. I mean, up and down the state, uh, many courts within California just have had historically a difficult time closing cases in a timely manner. And the pandemic has, has certainly made the situation worse in a lot of places. Speaker 1: 01:12 KPBS, investigative reporter, Claire Traeger, sir calculated that approximately 350 people have been in San Diego County jail waiting a year or more for trial, but it was hard to get a firm number on that. Did you also encounter that problem? Speaker 2: 01:30 It's a huge issue. Uh, there, there is not good data on this, which, which just completely calls into question, the ability of, of state judicial branch administration to, uh, to provide any effective oversight. Um, they're, they're just, I asked a number of, of sort of state bodies, trying to figure out basic questions about how long cases are taking, how many people are behind bars for extended periods of time and it just doesn't exist. And so I ended up having to put in, uh, public records requests to, uh, all 58 County Sheriff's departments, uh, scrape online, inmate locators use court records to, to really just try to even begin to understand, uh, the scope of the problem. Speaker 1: 02:12 Are there racial disparities involved in who winds up behind bars for years before their trials? Speaker 2: 02:18 Certainly I was able to get a racial demographic breakdowns for about 21 of the counties and the majority of the, uh, pretrial detainee, uh, the unsentenced inmates in those counties, uh, do appear to be black or Latino, Hispanic, uh, as listed in the, in the various reports. And one small example in, in San Francisco where, you know, only about 5% of the population is black. Um, 50% of the, uh, unsentenced inmates who've been there for, for more than a year are black. Speaker 1: 02:50 And our jails are quick to house inmates for long periods of time. Speaker 2: 02:56 You know, the advocates that I talked to in the inmates themselves, uh, say, no, um, they say that jails really aren't made to hold people for a long time. There's often not outdoor space. There's often not the same types of programs, say like educational programs for the folks inside. And so, uh, you know, one inmate who who's currently there who has spent time in prison, uh, said being in jail is hard to time. Uh, that's what, uh, that's what he called it. I it's, um, it's really not, it's not the best situation. And, and you know, a number of the, the inmates I talked to, you know, also said, you know, when you're in prison, you can work on bettering yourself. It's just, it's a different quality of life. And you know, that the next stage from there is, is home. Um, whereas you're in jail, you're locked down. Uh, there's not as much outdoor space. There's not as much to do. And you're just in this sort of state of limbo, not knowing what is going to happen to you Speaker 1: 03:51 Now, does the recent state Supreme court ruling that people can't be held in jail simply because they can't afford bail. Does that have any impact on these cases? Speaker 2: 04:02 You know, it could have some impact going forward in the future. Um, but not an immediate impact. I mean, it's, it's not like the jail doors are suddenly flung open and these people are getting out. Um, you know, the, the attorneys that I talk to say in many of these cases, uh, the defense attorneys are going to have to file motions for reconsideration. Judges are going to have to figure out how they're going to handle this. Um, and you know, they still can decide to hold someone in jail if there's a public safety reason, uh, or potentially if, uh, if they think they might not show back up in court. So there's a lot of while advocates certainly hailed that decision. Uh, there's a lot that is, is left. Uh, in question after that decision came out Speaker 1: 04:45 Now, in your report, you go through some of the reasons that people wind up waiting for months and years for their trials, the things like court continuances, sentence enhancements, multiple defendants cuts to court budgets, but overall, what has happened to the defendant's right to a speedy trial? Speaker 2: 05:05 Well, if, if you talk to prosecutors, they put a lot of the blame on defense attorneys and they say, look, there, there are a speedy trial rights. It's the defense attorneys who are waiving those rights and are continuously asking for continuances, asking for delays so they can prepare a case. Um, and, and what prosecutors will say is their cases don't age well that that, uh, witnesses die. They, they, their memories fade. And so there is an interest for prosecutors to moving things, moving things quickly, however, uh, defense attorneys and advocates sort of counter and say, you know, the sentences, uh, the sentence enhancements, the, the three strikes law here in California are so draconian that, that they need to, uh, spend extra time with these cases because the system is so stacked against their clients, that if they lose, uh, you know, their clients are facing life behind bars and they, uh, alleged that prosecutors will, will sort of pile on the charges, knowing that a defendant is gonna gonna sit in jail and it's going to pressure them to take, to take a plea deal. So, um, there's sort of a lot of blame to go around. And, and, you know, one thing to mention is of course the courts as well, they have a role to play. The judges, have the ability to, uh, to say, they're not going to grant a continuance or to, or to push things to resolve more quickly. Speaker 1: 06:21 So have many of the defendants held for years refused a plea deal? Speaker 2: 06:28 Uh, conceivably, yes. I mean, the ones I talked to, a number of the attorneys, I talked to that that is the case. Um, although there's also a number of, you know, cases I looked into where there wasn't a plea deal on the table, or at least not initially, and that the prosecutors were taking a very hard line. Uh, the elected prosecutor is I should add, we're taking a very hard line in specific cases. So, um, you know, every case is different in their unique situations and circumstances at play. Speaker 1: 06:54 Is there any compensation for someone held for months, even years if they are acquitted or if the case has been dropped Speaker 2: 07:03 Clean? Not, um, I mean there are, uh, civil remedies, uh, available, but, um, you know, the, the attorneys that I talked to say, it's, it's, those are, it's fairly difficult to, um, to, to get money, prove a claim, uh, through those routes. So, so no, I mean, it's not like, uh, you know, you're acquitted after three years behind bars and they say, oops, here's a, here's a whole bunch of money for your, for your time. Uh, it doesn't really work that way. Speaker 1: 07:29 Now your report also documents what these delays due to the victims of crime and their families. What is it like for them waiting for justice? Speaker 2: 07:39 I, it sounds horrible. I, I, you know, I talked to a number of victims and victim families and, and, you know, they talk a lot about, about closure and wanting to move on with their life. I, I interviewed, uh, the mother of a 21 year old man who was, who was murdered in Sacramento. She lives in Texas and she, you know, she flew out for the first hearing, uh, with, with a friend, she, she flew out on the anniversary to meet the new, uh, prosecutor in the case. She's logged down to every zoom hearing and she could still have months and years of, of this case dragging out. I, I talked to the brother of a woman who was murdered nearly 12 years ago. Uh, and he's just completely fed up with the judicial system, uh, and any hope of, of sort of closure through, through justice Speaker 1: 08:26 And our lawmakers coming up with any answers to solve these long waits behind bars. Speaker 2: 08:32 You know, I think that's really going to be a big question going forward. Uh, you know, you talk to judges, you talk to judicial administration. And, and one thing they say is that, uh, historically for years, the court system has been underfunded. Um, and so, you know, as we have this amazing, uh, pandemic related backlog contributing to what the backlog that already existed, um, you know, I, I do think there are some questions to the legislators, you know, at what point, uh, do they, you know, use the power of the purse to, to maybe help the court system, uh, use their oversight function to, to maybe look a little bit more closely at what's going on. Speaker 1: 09:11 I've been speaking with reporter Robert Lewis, author of the Cal matters report waiting for justice and Robert. Thanks a lot. You're welcome. Thank you for having me.