Similarly, for scheduling reasons, courts sometimes (indeed, often) schedule trials for the last day on which those trials may be commenced consistent with the defendant's constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial.
As a result, many times, jurors are called to court for a trial that pleads out. Particularly in small counties (here, Siskiyou), that's sometimes a hassle for the court administrator.
The Court of Appeal nonetheless holds that the way around that problem is not to "start" the trial at 4:15 p.m. -- in a department 90 minutes away -- despite the fact that no potential jurors are actually present. It doesn't count as "starting" a trial, on the last day of the defendant's speedy trial rights, to "say" that a trial is started and deal with administrative matters (e.g., motions in limine) and then actually start the trial the next day.
That's one day too late.
Can I suggest a solution for future court administrators in light of the Court of Appeal's ruling?
How about "starting" the trial a couple of days before the speedy deadline expires, rather than the very last day?
Like a lot of things in life, avoiding problems is often a lot easier when you don't wait until the day they are due.
(And, yes, I know this goes against the grain of many, many lawyers out there who always wait until the last day to file something. Including, at times, myself.)
