Courts try to clear backlog
BRIDGEPORT — State judicial officials will be re-opening courthouses around Connecticut for in-person criminal proceedings next week in an effort to clear the thousands of criminal cases that have been backlogged as a result of the pandemic.
Nicknamed “25 at 2,” starting Monday, nonincarcerated criminal defendants are being invited back to court 25 at a time.
“It’s all being done with safety in mind,” said Ralph Dagostine, director of criminal matters for the state Judicial Branch. “We want to dispose of cases but we want to do it safely.”
The pandemic forced the temporary closure of a number of state courthouses in March and the suspension of thousands of criminal cases.
While Priority One cases — those involving major felonies and domestic violence — were still being arraigned in court through video conferencing, all other cases involving defendants free on bond were continued to later and later dates. There is no schedule when criminal trials will reconvene.
As of June 19, according to the Judicial Branch, there were 73,647 pending criminal and motor vehicle cases in the state. The geographical courts, which handle the minor felony cases, misdemeanors and motor vehicle cases, account for 71,079 of the pending cases.
The Bridgeport GA court on Golden Hill Street has about 9,000 pending cases.
Two weeks ago, the Judicial Branch began sending out letters to non-incarcerated defendants with cases pending at GA courts notifying them their cases had been scheduled on a new docket.
Dagostine said beginning Monday, 25 defendants have been scheduled to come to court at 2 p.m. in an effort to have their cases resolved.
“They are going to be able to talk to a prosecutor in person and go before a judge in person,” Dagostine explained. “This doesn’t mean their case is going to necessarily be disposed of that day, but at least it sets the wheels in motion.”
“It’s an interesting experiment,” said Bridgeport attorney Frank Riccio II, president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. “There is equal concern about this from both attorneys and their clients on the safety of this because of COVID, but I’m also sure that the state is doing everything in their power to protect people who go into state buildings.”
Dagostine said the reason they scheduled the docket for 2 p.m. is that arraignments would already have been completed and there would be fewer people in the courthouses at that time. He said they determined that 25 is the maximum number of defendants that can be processed safely in a courthouse at one time.
He said the cases are being called back to court chronologically, starting with the March cases.
Dagostine said the letter also tells defendants that they can seek a continuance “but the expectation is that they will attend.” Motions for continuance can be mailed, faxed or dropped off at the court before the scheduled court date.
Courthouses in Norwalk, Derby and Manchester remain closed because of the pandemic, so Dagostine said defendants are being notified of the alternate courts they will report to.
“Access to justice is part of the mission of the judicial branch,” he said.