Crime crisis in California: Dozens of defendants released from prison on formal grounds

The San Francisco Superior Court dismissed 70 misdemeanor cases that were not tried within the constitutional time limit, including driving under the influence, sexual assault and restraining order violations.

The mass firings came a month after a panel of California appeals judges found that San Francisco courts had wrongly delayed a woman's trial for years, citing outdated pandemic-era protocols as the reason for the decision.

“You've given these 70 criminals a monopoly on getting out of prison,” Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney who has practiced in California for more than 30 years, told Fox News Digital. “These aren't people running red lights – driving under the influence or domestic violence. Where's the relief for the victim?”

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office said prosecutors had identified 74 other defendants whose trials had been postponed under the same circumstances. A judge dismissed all but four of the charges last Thursday in light of the appeal ruling.

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The San Francisco Superior Court dismissed 70 misdemeanor cases on Thursday.

Jenkins acknowledged that the courts had an obligation to dismiss the cases and that her office had a “duty” to handle the cases ethically. But she stressed that the court's delays not only failed defendants, who were deprived of their constitutional right to a speedy trial, but also the “countless victims of crime who will not receive justice.”

Among the dropped cases was a car crash that killed two pedestrians near the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2022. Wayne Henderson, whose 72-year-old wife, Mary Henderson, and 31-year-old daughter, Willa Henderson, were killed in the crash, vented his anger last Thursday before San Francisco Superior Court Chief Judge Anne-Christine Massullo.

“We, the victims of these crimes, are being denied our moment of accountability … to see and hear the defendant held accountable for his wrongdoing. The moment we at least deserve,” he said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “How can this be justice?”

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San Francisco Superior Court Chief Judge Anne-Christine Massullo told the San Francisco Chronicle that there was “no discretion” in the dismissed cases – her office was merely “obliged to [the appellate court’s] Command.” (Andy Alfaro/The Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service)

Prosecutors and defense attorneys blame the judges for the delays, while the high court argues that the blame lies with the San Francisco district attorney's office.

Massullo told the Chronicle that there was “no discretion” in the cases her court had to dismiss, adding that the court hopes “the prosecution will prioritize the cases appropriately so that justice can be done.”

A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office responded: “Any suggestion by the court that our law firm should solve cases irresponsibly in order to help the court cope with its caseload is rash, inappropriate and inappropriate.”

Following the recent robberies in San Francisco on December 2, 2021, police vehicles are stationed at Union Square. (AP/Eric Risberg)

Terrell, a civil rights attorney who has practiced in California for more than thirty years, told Fox News Digital he had never seen “such a blanket dismissal based on negligence.”

“I've seen individual cases dismissed. But here we have 70? That's highly unusual because I haven't heard any legitimate excuse for it,” Terrell said Thursday. “There are so many alternatives that the San Francisco Superior Court could have used – they just needed to look at other cities and counties in California.”

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A crime scene at 16th Street and Potrero Ave. in San Francisco on May 23 after a fatal incident occurred at a bus stop. A reportedly stolen truck crashed into pedestrians during a police chase, injuring four people and killing one. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency)

In similar circumstances, Terrell said, courts would often assign civil judges to handle a large caseload and suspend civil court operations until the criminal cases are completed.

Courts could also extend their opening hours to handle more cases, he said.

Terrell also noted that these offenses are “not as difficult” to prosecute compared to crimes that require more witness and expert testimony.

“You don't have 15 or 20 witnesses,” he explained. “When we have a misdemeanor case, I've never had a case where there were more than three or four witnesses on either side. In a drunk driving case, it's usually the defendant, a police officer's report and a medical expert's testimony on blood alcohol content.”

A pedestrian crosses a street in the Outer Sunset neighborhood near Ocean Beach in San Francisco on June 26, 2023. (Photo by Loren Elliott via Getty Images)

Terrell also said that settlements are often reached to reduce caseloads rather than dropping cases altogether.

Constitutional law expert John Turley noted that district attorneys typically “do not simply rely on neglect as a case-handling tool.”

“If it was negligent, it's a very serious matter when so many cases are dismissed by noncompliance,” Turley said. “If it was intentional, they need to explain why they didn't just move for dismissal.”

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California criminal defense attorney David Wohl told Fox News Digital that caseload congestion is a “nationwide problem.” In Riverside County, he said, a number of felony cases have been dismissed because there weren't enough courtrooms available.

“For something like this to happen now, when we're two years removed from the COVID issues in California, is just another symptom of the political dysfunction in this city,” he said. “It's a sad statement about the state of a city that is great in many ways, but is now dysfunctional in many ways – it's crying out for federal intervention.”