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New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

theadvocate.com

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Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#4

Post by gok »

There are many cases of defendants' right to a speedy trial being trampled. I'm not completely convinced this is a particularly great example of that.

He was arrested while on parole, which is why he didn't get out on bail. Many of the delays came from his side. If it had gone to trial, the prosecution would have only had to prove he was guilty by a preponderance of the evidence. So the long time in detention could have just been a strategy.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#5

Post by gozur88 »

While I agree it's unconstitutional to park someone in jail for eight years without bail or a trial, this particular guy is probably ecstatic at how it all worked out:

>As a parolee with a previous drug charge to his name, Smith was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life if convicted as a habitual offender, according to one of his lawyers.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#7

Post by sergers »

gozur88 wrote: post #5

While I agree it's unconstitutional to park someone in jail for eight years without bail or a trial, this particular guy is probably ecstatic at how it all worked out: >As a parolee with a previous drug charge to his name, Smith was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life if convicted as a habitual offender, according to one of his lawyers.

From the article, he potentially had a plea deal to get out in 2015, but turned it down.

> “He could have come home as early as January of 2015,” said defense attorney Martin Regan, whose firm handled the case from the start. “There’s a man who just steadfastly said, 'I don’t care, you can keep me. I’m not guilty, I want a trial.' ”

I am thinking it was strategy to wait it out, perhaps not initially. Or thinking about how he's gonna become a millionaire after suing because of the delays/ loss of right to speedy trial

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#8

Post by derefr »

gozur88 wrote: post #5

While I agree it's unconstitutional to park someone in jail for eight years without bail or a trial, this particular guy is probably ecstatic at how it all worked out: >As a parolee with a previous drug charge to his name, Smith was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life if convicted as a habitual offender, according to one of his lawyers.

Previous drug charge? Does that mean that he wasn't convicted the first time, either? The only thing "habitual" there, then, would be the police's desire to arrest him.

Re: New Orleans man locked up nearly 8 years awaiting trial, then case gets tossed

#9

Post by dragonwriter »

derefr wrote: post #8
gozur88 wrote: post #5

While I agree it's unconstitutional to park someone in jail for eight years without bail or a trial, this particular guy is probably ecstatic at how it all worked out: >As a parolee with a previous drug charge to his name, Smith was looking at a sentence of 20 years to life if convicted as a habitual offender, according to one of his lawyers.

Previous drug charge ? Does that mean that he wasn't convicted the first time, either? The only thing "habitual" there, then, would be the police's desire to arrest him.

He was a parolee on the previous charge, which means he was convicted, sentenced to incarceration, and released from that incarceration on parole.
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