New Speedy Trial Act to help in some ways

Gov. Kay Ivey recently signed the new Speedy Trial Act.

It’s designed to give district attorneys a way to get more time to present violent offense cases to juries. Most of the circuit courts in the states have backlogs. But the new act doesn’t necessarily help with all cases.

“There is some backlog in drug cases primarily related to getting toxicology reports back from the Department of Forensic Sciences,” 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney C.J. Robinson said. “We do not have a back log of violent cases. I have informed the judges of the 19th Circuit we won’t be doing anything under the new Speedy Trial Act.”

Robinson prosecutes cases in Elmore, Autauga and Chilton counties. There are some violent cases to be tried in front of juries but he doesn’t have many docket busters, which a