"Interest is high when a major crime happens, but then it may take three or four years before a defendant is brought to justice," writes Steve Swenson in the Bakersfield California. He lists a host of reasons that a criminal case can take years to get to trial, but notes that until just last year, the Kern County Crime Lab had a backlog of DNA samples waiting to be tested.
"For example, it's been more than three years now since sheriff's deputy Joe Hudnall was killed in a crash in the Kern River Canyon.
The defendant, attorney Daniel Patrick Willsey, still hasn't faced a jury as his case has been dragged out by blunders in the crime lab and possible conflicts in the district attorney's office."
Posted by Justin McLachlan on 11/26/09
