There’s been another slew of court cases that had to be dismissed due to a shortage of judges in Shasta County Superior Court. The crisis is affecting courts throughout California. The problem emerges if a defendant does not wave their right to a speedy trial. In the past few months cases have been dropped against Bounjan Inthavong for felony domestic violence, against convicted murderer Richard Kirk for first degree burglary, against Kevin Rupp for arson, against Bouachanh Phetchamphone for child abuse and elder abuse, against Jeffrey French for felony domestic violence and elder abuse, against Blue Fireclouse-Abreu for assault with a deadly weapon, against Andrew Noland for evading police in as stolen car, against Shea Montgomery for child abuse, and several other defendants. Every case was immediately re-filed but that can only be done once before a case is permanently dismissed. The District Attorney’s Office is encouraging people to contact their state legislators.
-Steve Gibson