In a partial rebuke of a lower court jurist, a federal appeals court decided Friday that criminal defendants were not robbed of their right to speedy trials or forced unconstitutionally to remain behind bars because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their trials.
The appeals court ruling effectively affirms that COVID-19 was an emergency that forced some courts to take unprecedented steps, including delaying proceedings. It means that criminal defendants are unlikely to prevail in claiming they should escape charges or get out of jail because of pandemic-induced delays.
The 9th Circuit called Carney’s ruling on Olsen “troubling,” clearly wrong on the law and an abuse of his discretion as a judge, resulting “in a miscarriage of justice.” Carney’s decision on Olsen was one of a handful in which the judge tossed criminal charges because of a belief the pandemic delays were unjustified.