Judge's silence isn't golden with regard to trial's delay

When a man accused of a crime has been sitting in the Mahoning County Criminal Justice Center since Dec. 12, 2003 awaiting trial, someone in a position of authority owes the public -- read that taxpayers -- an explanation.
County Prosecutor Paul Gains notes that accused killer Wade Shaw's case is assigned to Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney, which, he says, means she is responsible for scheduling the trial.
Gains also contends that Judge Sweeney manages her docket, so any questions about the more than a dozen postponements of Shaw's trial should be addressed to her.
Vindicator Crime Reporter Patricia Meade did just that, but the answer she got was silence. Indeed, Sweeney did not even bother to return the reporter's calls, choosing, instead, to have a staff member tell Meade that there would be no comment about the pending case.
But as the reporter noted, she was not interested in the issues of the case, just in why Shaw is languishing in jail while others who were charged after him have already had their day in court.
Judge Sweeney's silence is unacceptable -- given the black eye the criminal justice system in the county has been sporting since an independent evaluation used the word "dysfunctional" to describe the system.
As a result of a federal lawsuit filed by inmates claiming that their constitutional rights were violated because of overcrowding in the jail, a federal judge is now calling the shots insofar as the number of prisoners to be housed with the current staffing levels.
Systemic problem
But even if the situation with the jail is resolved, the long delays in having cases brought to trial will continue because there is a systemic problem in docket management and the failure of the courts and the prosecutor's office to get their act together.
And as Meade's story Sunday on Shaw's long stay in jail points out, the problem is exacerbated by defense lawyers juggling several criminal cases at the same time.
Incidentally, if the trial does proceed as scheduled June 4, the cost to the taxpayers to house, feed and otherwise take care for Shaw behind bars will have exceeded 87,000.
As for Prosecutor Gains pointing the finger of blame at Judge Sweeney, that alone should prompt a response. After all, it isn't the first time the prosecutor has blamed judges for the inordinate amount of time some inmates have been on ice.
His previous attempts to hold judges James Evans and Maureen Cronin responsible for cases in their courts not going forward were met with immediate reaction. They pointed out that even after Gains got the money from the commissioners to hire five additional prosecutors, some cases are not being expedited.
As each example of the criminal justice system's dysfunction is exposed by The Vindicator, it is increasingly clear that Mahoning County needs help -- beyond a federal mandate on the operation of the jail.