Held Too Long, Case Thrown Out: Why Benavides v. Superior Court Reinforces California’s 10-Day Rule

Held Too Long, Case Thrown Out: Why Benavides v. Superior Court Reinforces California’s 10-Day Rule When an accused individual is sitting in jail waiting for a preliminary hearing, California law imposes strict deadlines on the prosecution. Those deadlines are not suggestions. They are mandatory—and when they are violated, the case must be dismissed. That is exactly what the Court of Appeal reaffirmed in Benavides v. Superior Court (People), a recent…

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COVID-19 is Not an Excuse: Courts Must Hold Preliminary Hearings Within 60 Days of Arraignment

COVID-19 is Not an Excuse: Courts Must Hold Preliminary Hearings Within 60 Days of Arraignment The question before the court in Lacayo v. Superior Court was whether there were such “extraordinary circumstances” presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic to justify “good cause” for continuance of the defendant’s preliminary hearing beyond the 60-Day Rule. On February 24, 2020, Defendant Kareem Lacayo (“Lacayo”) was arraigned on charges for possession of a firearm…

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What is an Arraignment in California?

What is an Arraignment in California? Though the facts are different in every case, the path that every criminal case in California travels is designed to be the same. If you are suspected of committing a crime, you will first be arrested. If the prosecutor does not file charges, you will be released, and the process ends. If he or she does decide that the evidence is strong enough against…

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