Has COVID been good for criminal defendants? I have struggled with this question for the past year and a half. There have been some changes to court policies that argue in both directions. On the one hand, the repeated delays, lack of available jurors, and state-ordered pause on the Speedy Trial clock are bad for […]

The current crisis has put the criminal court system in an unprecedented struggle to function. Court hearings are happening by telephone conference, or video-link (if you are lucky). The Supreme Judicial Court has already ruled that delays resulting from the current crisis, will not be applied toward a defendant’s Constitutional speedy trial rights. As a […]