A long and winding road to the court

The U.S. Constitution guarantees criminal defendants a right to a speedy trial, but speed does not necessarily mean fast.

A typical felony case for theft, burglary or drug charges usually takes at least eight months from the time an arrest is made until the defendant stands trial, said Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr. A capital murder case can take more than two years.

"It's a fairly long process to get a case to trial," Graham said. "A lot of people don't realize how long it takes for a trial to be held in a felony case."

Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said that after an arrest, the defendant must have an initial court appearance within 72 hours.

"At the initial appearance, the judge basically just determines if the defendant has an attorney or needs for one to be appointed by the court and if the defendant is eligible to be released on bond," Connolly said.

That initial court appearance marks the start of myriad legal proceedings that typically culminate with the defendant entering a guilty plea or going to trial and being acquitted or found guilty. In some cases, the charges are dropped for lack of evidence or other reasons before it reaches the trial or plea bargain phase.

"After the initial court appearance, a preliminary hearing is held where the district judge determines if there is probable cause to send the case to the grand jury," Connolly said.

Defendants can waive their right to a preliminary hearing and allow the case to be sent to a grand jury without them having an opportunity to rebut the charges against them.

Grand jurors can either issue an indictment, meaning they found there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the defendant, or nol pros the case, meaning there was not enough evidence to warrant prosecution, he said.

If the case is nol prosed, prosecutors can present it to another session of the grand jury.

When an indictment is issued, the case moves to circuit court where an arraignment is held to formally read the charges against the defendant. Defendants can waive their right to an arraignment hearing.

After a defendant is indicted and arraigned they go into the line of people awaiting trial, Connolly said.

Graham said if the defendant is in jail or out on bond, the amount of forensic evidence that must be analyzed are among the factors that determine how quickly a case makes its way through the court system once an indictment is issued.

"After the indictment, we have a pre-trial conference where the prosecutors and defense attorneys meet with the judge to determine if a plea agreement is possible. If a plea agreement is not an option, the case is placed on the trial docket. Jail cases are usually placed first on the docket. If it's a murder case with lots of forensic evidence, it can take more than a year to get the reports back on all that evidence and the attorneys from both sides be given sufficient time to review them so the case can go to trial. If it's a case where the defendant must undergo a psychiatric evaluation, the case cannot go to trial until that testing is completed."

Graham said prosecutors and defense attorneys have the right to ask that a trial be delayed to allow more time for investigations or to locate witnesses.

He said if an attorney, investigator, judge or other court official, the defendant, victims or others involved in the trial become ill or have a death in their family, the trial can be delayed. "There's all kinds of things that can lead to a continuance."

Denny Kimbrell, a member of Victims of Crime and Leniency's Lauderdale chapter, said the organization works with crime victims to explain the legal process and the sometimes lengthy delays in a criminal case going to trial.

"A lot of times it takes two, three, even four years for a case to go to trial. We try to prepare the victims and their family for that," he said.

Kimbrell, of Center Star, is himself a crime victim. His son, Darryl, was killed in 1999 by a driver who was under the influence of drugs and ran a red light in Florence.

Kimbrell said he and his family were not familiar with the legal system when the defendant was arrested and his case began making its way through the courts.

"It was our first experience with a court system," he said. "We were fortunate in our case that another trial was delayed and they were able to squeeze our case in where it had been scheduled. It took only about 10 months for our case to go to trial. Most criminal cases take a lot longer. We were also fortunate that the defendant was found guilty."

After a guilty verdict or plea comes the sentencing phase, which can last two months or more to allow probation officials to conduct a pre-sentence investigation and for prosecutors and defense attorneys to meet with the judge and discuss possible punishments. A sentencing hearing is then held and the judge announces the jail or prison sentence, probation, fines and other punishment for the defendant.

"From the time someone is arrested until they go to prison rarely takes less than a year," Connolly said. "It sometimes takes more than two years to make it to the sentencing hearing."

In cases where the defendant is found innocent, the defendant cannot be prosecuted again on the same charge.

A guilty verdict brings with it the option of appealing the conviction.

If attorneys can prove the defendant did not receive a fair trial, the conviction can be overturned and a new trial ordered or the charges dropped.

The appeals process can continue for many years after the trial.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.