THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 26, 1995 TAG: 9509260001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Criminal justice in Hampton Roads comes in two speeds: slow and slower.
Of the 31 Virginia court systems, Portsmouth Circuit Court is the slowest, with Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Newport News also ranked in the bottom five. Norfolk is 10th slowest; Hampton and Suffolk are in the middle of the pack.
The state Supreme Court recommends that 90 percent of all felony defendants be tried within four months of arrest. Statewide, the fastest courts are Alexandria, with 87.5 percent of cases tried within four months, followed by Richmond at 82.1 percent and Henrico at 77.7 percent.
No Hampton Roads court comes close. In Portsmouth the percentage is 27.4, in Chesapeake 32.2, Virginia Beach 39.2, Newport News 39.4, Norfolk 43.7, Hampton 50.5 and Suffolk/Isle of Wight 54.5.
Why should justice be so much swifter in those populous areas than in Hampton Roads?
The reason, as staff writer Marc Davis made clear in a report Monday, is postponements, or, in legal-speak, continuances.
In the slow-court districts, continuances are routinely granted upon request. In fast-court districts, they aren't.
For a six-week period in May and June in Virginia Beach, 46 percent of all hearings were postponed and judges denied only three of 452 continuance requests.
In stark contrast, Alexandria attempts to try every felony within 60 days of indictment. ``That's not always the case, but that is the rule, and the judges really stick to it,'' said Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney John E. Kloch. ``You have to come up with a pretty good reason for a continuance.''
In Portsmouth, the trial of the person charged with murdering Gary Watts 15 months ago for playing a radio too loud has been postponed six times - in November, January, March, May, July and earlier this month. The defendant is free on bond awaiting the next postponement.
``We're so angry we don't even know where to begin,'' said Watts' mother, Barbara Kenady. ``Every two months they set this trial and it never gets there.''
Undelayed justice was pledged way back in 1215, in the Magna Carta: ``We will deny justice to none, nor delay it.''
Certainly, the law works best as a deterrent to crime when punishment is swift and sure. If an accused murderer remains on the street month after month after month, without even going to trial, the wrong message is sent. And each continuance prolongs the suffering of all who loved the victims.
Continuances can make conviction more difficult. For example, when more than a year passes between the crime and the trial, witnesses' memories may dim, or some key witnesses may move and prove difficult or impossible to locate.
The continuances can hardly be blamed on a shortage of lawyers: The South Hampton Roads Yellow Pages listings for lawyers run 83 pages. Still, most continuances are requested by, and for the convenience of, defense attorneys.
If inconveniencing defense attorneys is the price of swifter justice, then inconvenience them.
The ball is in the judges' court. If they want to speed up justice, they can - by granting continuances only for very good reasons. Norfolk began in January to speed up cases. ``We've all agreed we are going to be tougher on continuances,'' said Chief Judge Lydia C. Taylor.
Norfolk should continue to work for swifter justice, and the other cities should follow its lead. by CNB