Long waits for trial rarely have anything to do with prosecutors
EL CENTRO — The time between a when a prosecutor must be ready to bring a case to trial and that case is actually tried could be months or even years. Consequently, sometimes inmates at Imperial County Jail spend an extended time behind bars without having been convicted of a crime.
Often, that decision to wait for trial in jail, while still presumed to be innocent, is made by the defense attorney and the defendant, often because of the bail amount required for release. However, the court and judge still need to agree to the request.
Imperial County Assistant District Attorney Deborah Owen said prosecutors have to be prepared for trial in 60 days after the arraignment, though the judge can grant a continuance for a legal reason.
The coronavirus pandemic is one reason continuances have been provided on a statewide level.
Owen said every defendant has the right to a speedy trial, though most of them choose to waive that right.
Sometimes, a change of attorney necessitates a continuance to allow the new lawyer time to get up to speed on the case.
Tim Dibble, the brother of inmate Michael Dibble, who has been in the county jail for two years while awaiting trial on sex charges, acknowledged the two times his brother changed attorneys could have prolonged the case, as each new attorney needed time to review the case.
“They have six months to get up to speed, not a year,” Michael Dibble said. “No date has been set. It is what it is, Two years is a long time to sit in a jail cell for a crime you did not commit.”
Owen and defense attorneys agreed it is rarely a prosecutor who requests a continuance.
“We can’t go to court and say we are not ready,” she said, adding scheduled vacations or needing more time to prepare are not reasons accepted by the courts.
Owen said defendants at any time can ask for the speedy trial rule to be put back in place — even if it had been previously waived.
However, both defense attorneys and prosecutors said it is not uncommon for a defendant charged with murder or another serious crime to be incarcerated for three to five years while awaiting trial.
She said defense attorneys might request more time to allow experts to review the evidence or to have medical and psychological experts made available to testify.
Tim Dibble thinks the primary reason for his brother still being in jail after two years with no trial scheduled is the prosecution is trying to work out a plea deal. Owen disagreed. “Obviously, we don’t want innocent people to plead guilty,” she said.
Sometimes the defense attorney and his client disagree on whether to seek a continuance, causing the judge to balance the right of the defendant against the request of the counsel, though those disagreements are pretty rare.
“We want them to be prepared because we don’t want to have the case reversed.” Owen said.
Tim Dibble said in the two years his brother has been incarcerated everyone who has been in the county jail has come and gone.
Defense attorneys admit this could be the case for serious cases, like sexual assaults against a child, where the potential sentence could far outweigh the time a person spends in jail while awaiting trial.