Bench warrant issued for no-show defendant

The appellate court ruled the trial judge erred in dismissing the case.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Kenneth Miller failed to report for a court hearing, and a bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Miller, 28, is the defendant in a criminal case an appellate court sent back to the trial court. He failed to appear in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a Monday status hearing.

The trial judge, John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, issued the warrant for Miller of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, who is charged with robbery, felonious assault and domestic violence. The offenses were reportedly committed against a city woman May 16, 2007.

Miller’s jury trial had been set for last Nov. 13 before Judge Durkin, but Natasha Frenchko, the assistant county prosecutor assigned to the case, wasn’t in the courtroom then because she was presenting a seminar elsewhere to teach nurses how to interview rape and domestic violence victims.

Although a stand-in prosecutor asked that the trial be postponed, Judge Durkin dismissed the charges against Miller and freed him from jail because of Frenchko’s absence, saying Miller’s speedy-trial clock had expired.

The prosecution appealed the dismissal to the 7th District Court of Appeals, which recently revived the case by ruling that the speedy-trial clock hadn’t expired and that Judge Durkin erred in dismissing the matter.

Speedy-trial time is the amount of time the government has to bring a defendant to trial. The seriousness of the offense determines how quickly the case must be brought into court. In general, defendants must be tried within 90 days after their arrest if they’re in jail or within 270 if they are out on bond.

The time can be tolled, however, for continuances granted by a judge to either the prosecutor’s office or the defense. A defendant also can waive the right to a speedy trial.