Kansas cold case task force lays groundwork for sharing DNA database hits kansasreflector.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kansasreflector.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kansans awaiting trial have been stuck in limbo since the COVID-19 pandemic brought the country to a halt this past year. Now, Kansas has suspended speedy trial deadlines in order to catch up to the case backlog, meaning defendants and victims alike could be waiting several more years before their case is heard.Â
Previously, Kansas statutory speedy trial rights required a defendant to be tried within 150 days of being placed in custody. If not in custody, a defendant had to be tried within 180 days. But when the pandemic started in March 2020, courts were forced to hit pause.
Earlier this year, Gov. Laura Kelly signed HB 2078 into law, which suspends the provisions of the speedy trial statute until March 1, 2023, to help courts cope with the backlog of cases. The consequence of this, however, is that it creates the problem of possibly violating the defendant s sixth amendment rights guaranteeing a speedy trial. Â
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One month after Greg Newman was removed from office as district attorney in a rare court proceeding, he has been approved to work in Asheville and Buncombe County as a defense attorney for indigent clients – those who have been accused of a crime and can’t afford a private lawyer.
Buncombe County Chief Public Defender Sam Snead on May 24 approved Newman to be placed on a list of attorneys who serve as court-appointed counsel for indigent people.
These lawyers are paid by the state’s Office of Indigent Defense Services to represent those accused of crimes but the public defender’s office has a conflict and cannot take their cases, or is too overburdened to take a case, Snead said.
Greg Newman, former Henderson County district attorney removed from office in disgrace in April, is working as a defense attorney for the indigent in Buncombe County.