Charges Dismissed Against Accused Bloomington Rapist as Timeline Questions Trigger Speedy Trial Rule

Charges dismissed against accused Bloomington rapist as timeline questions trigger speedy trial rule

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Rape charges filed against a former Indiana University football player are being dismissed after defense attorneys argued the State took too long to bring the case to trial. A judge sided with the defense attorneys while state prosecutors argued they should have had until July 8 to start the trial. Indiana Criminal Rule 4(C) grants criminal suspects the right to a speedy trial. Under this rule, the State is burdened with brin…

Accused’s right to a speedy trial can be a slow process

“I’ll grant the motion,” says the judge, “but you’re on thin ice, Counselor.” Maybe it’s from watching “Law & Order”-type television dramas, but I think the men and women in the black robes often make this admonishment, or a variation of it, especially in criminal cases. Frequent requests by defense attorneys for extensions — and granting of these motions by judges — have defendants languishing in jail for years awaiting a trial. Berks County Di…

When Judges Let Thin Skin Undermine Justice

By Juda Engelmayer In the United States, our courtrooms are supposed to embody the best of the rule of law—fair, impartial, and immune to the passions of the moment or the pressures of the press. But during the recent federal trial of United States v. Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz in Brooklyn, I saw something far more troubling: a courtroom where judicial sensitivity to public criticism may have imperiled not just my clients’ rights, but fu…