Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin has warned the dismissal of more than 1,000 criminal Superior Court cases in recent weeks is depriving victims of justice.
In October, the court stated that 2,800 pending cases were set for trial. As of Dec. 16, there are about 2,200 backlogged cases, and the county’s Superior Court judges have dismissed 1,098 criminal cases.
The judges began dismissing criminal cases on Oct. 10, citing a lack of available trial courtrooms, according to a statement issued by Hestrin’s office on Dec. 19. The dismissals include felony and misdemeanor cases of nearly all types of alleged crimes.
Around 83 felony cases of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, sex crimes, child abuse, domestic violence, and others have been dismissed so far….