Offices share blame for release, judge says

The defense lawyer argued that the speedy-trial clock had expired.

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Various court functionaries must share the blame for the release of an armed-robbery suspect whose speedy-trial clock expired, according to the judge who dismissed the case and freed him from Mahoning County Jail.

“Everybody had a little responsibility in this, and I don’t think anybody could point a finger at one person,” said Judge Maureen A. Sweeney, administrative judge of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

In an interview, Judge Sweeney said the court assignment office, which works for the judges, and the county prosecutor’s office share the blame for failure to watch the speedy-trial clock in the case of Christopher Williams. However, the judge vowed: “I will not allow this to happen again.”

Williams had been charged with aggravated robbery with a firearm specification on allegations he took a cell phone and keys from an elderly man.

The county prosecutor’s office is equally concerned about this matter, and it has asked the 7th District Court of Appeals to reverse Judge Sweeney’s dismissal of the case. No appeals court hearing has yet been announced.

Gains’ comment

“We’re doing everything in our power to see that ... [the victim’s family] gets justice,” said Paul Gains, county prosecutor. “That’s why we appealed it,” Gains said of the Sept. 12 appeal, which seeks expedited review by the appellate judges.

“The bottom line is somebody dropped the ball and the robber scored. He made out on this, and that’s not justice,” said the 80-year-old robbery victim. “With the computers and stuff they have today, I can’t understand how this could happen,” he said.

Judge Sweeney agreed that such a red flag should go up on cases where the speedy-trial clock is in danger of expiring, but she said she was not familiar in detail with the capabilities and limitations of the court’s computer system; and Robert Regula, court administrator, who oversees the assignment office, declined to comment for this story.

At a hearing on Sept. 10 — the day Williams’ trial was to have begun — Judge Sweeney granted a defense motion for dismissal of the charge against Williams, 20, of Detroit Avenue, and ordered him released from jail. Williams had been charged with robbing the elderly West Side man of his keys and cellular phone Dec. 28 as the victim was leaving a Zedaker Street residence.

Argued for dismissal

Williams’ court-appointed defense lawyer, Lynn A. Maro, argued in her motion for Williams’ release that the case must be dismissed because the prosecution failed to bring her client to trial within the required 90 days after his arrest.

Maro’s motion cited Ohio’s speedy-trial law, which says a defendant must be brought to trial within 90 days of his arrest if he is jailed in lieu of bond, or within 270 days if he is free on bond. Williams, who was jailed from Dec. 28 to Sept. 10, had not waived his speedy-trial rights, Maro noted.

However, Robert J. Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, argued in his reply motion and during the hearing that, as of Sept. 10, only 78 days had elapsed on the speedy-trial clock and 12 days remained.

That’s because the clock had been stopped numerous times by various defense motions and by Judge Sweeney’s being occupied by other trials over which she was presiding, Andrews argued.

Adding up the days

In the hearing, the judge said 54 days elapsed on the speedy-trial clock between Williams’ Dec. 28 arrest and Feb. 20, when the defense filed its first motion, and that the clock was stopped between Feb. 20 and June 26, either by motions filed or by the court’s being in other trials.

However, the judge said in court that there was no reason for the delay between June 26 and July 31, which caused an additional 35 days to elapse on the speedy-trial clock, leaving only one day remaining. Because she was in trial, the clock stopped again from July 31 to Aug. 13 and ran out on Aug. 14, the judge explained.

To prevent such a dismissal from ever happening again in her court, Judge Sweeney said her secretary and bailiff will assume responsibility for scheduling her criminal cases beginning with the first pretrial conference, which is usually 10 days after arraignment, to ensure that speedy-trial requirements are met.

Andrews declined to grant an interview for this story, and Maro did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

The victim’s son concluded: “We’re not lawyers. We’re just victims here, and all we know is justice wasn’t served. ... The sad thing is, if they don’t fix this, it’s going to happen again.”