Salt Lake County Set to Implement Early Resolution in February
The Early Resolution Plan is Salt Lake County’s effort to resolve felony cases within 30 days after being filed, but the real goal is to reach a resolution within 48 hours of filing. The district attorney’s office will purportedly review each case and then make the best offer possible in order to get the case resolved.
Salcido Law Firm PLLC has reservations about this new plan and believes that ultimately it will cause more problems than it will solve.
First, it is highly unlikely that the DA can make the best offer within 48 hours. It takes weeks of preparation on both the prosecution and the defense side to truly understand the facts of the case and thereby formulate an appropriate game plan for both prosecuting and defending a case. In our experience the first offer is generally not the best offer. It is not until after we fight hard through litigation that the prosecutor finally makes the best offer.
Second, the purpose of government is to protect rights. The protection of theCriminal Defense rights is paramount in any criminal proceeding. Forcing through cases to relieve an overburdened case load in the court system will be done at the expense of criminal defendants’ rights, thereby acting in direct contravention of the purpose of government.
Third, there is a good possibility that this plan will have the exact opposite result of what is intended, that is, the court system will become even more overburdened because criminal defendants will not want to agree to something in 2 days and instead will set their case for trial. This could result in the courts’ trial load increasing greatly.
There are other considerations which argue in favor of rejecting this plan which cannot be discussed here for the sake of space and time.
Our Suggestion – Stop Making Everything Illegal
The State and its judicial employees should stop complaining about an overburdened case load in the court system. The reason courts are so busy is because everything is ILLEGAL. Want to reduce the case load? Get rid of all of the stupid laws that plague Utah citizens. Instead of coming up with plans that are sure to negatively impact the due process rights of defendants, talk to the Utah Legislature which is intent on making everyone a criminal. Return the government to its proper purpose of protecting rights, not trampling on them.
Well…until Utah starts repealing laws we’ll be here to defend you. Call us anytime. 801.413.1753.
