QUESTION
What is considered a "quick and speedy" trial?
Asked on Jul 30th, 2013 on Criminal Law - Georgia
More details to this question:
On May 19, 2013, I was arrested for possession of marijuana under 1oz in Cobb County, Georgia. I bonded out. My arraignment was today, 07/30/13. I went to court after 5 hours and my acceptance of the plea bargain, the prosecutor pulled me aside and said she was missing the analysis report from the confiscated drugs and could not prosecute. She then had the court date pushed back until 09/26/13. Should I have opted to move forward with arraignment today and go for a dismissal? How long is the period of "due process" in Georgia? Since I had to represent myself in order to speed things along and communicate with the prosecutor, should I now try to seek counsel? If I continue to represent myself, should I request documents from the arresting police department and from the state attorney's office?
1 ANSWER
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Generally the state has two years to prosecute a misdemeanor. That is just the statute of limitations, meaning they have that long to formally charge you. Sounds like your case is moving a lot faster than that though.
To be convicted of that crime, the prosecutors would have to prove that there was actual marijuana involved. This is usually done with a crime lab report, but sometimes they are missing that, or end up losing/missing the contraband itself. You might as well wait and see if they produce any lab report or have any info on whether there were drugs tested. If they have lost these things you may be able to have your case dismissed at the appropriate time.
Answered on Jul 31st, 2013 at 3:38 PM