Speedy Trial Deadline Blown – Violation Undoes Sex Assault Conviction As Colorado Court Orders Dismissal With Prejudice

The remedy here was as automatic as the violation was clear: dismissal with prejudice. No second chances, no do-overs, no opportunity for the state to re-file charges. When Colorado’s speedy trial deadline passes without proper justification, the case ends permanently.

For practitioners, this decision reinforces several crucial points about speedy trial practice. First, emergency statutory provisions have shelf lives, and courts can’t extend their authority beyond explicit expiration dates. Second, general case management principles don’t override specific constitutional deadlines. Third, defendants bear no affirmative duty to monitor court compliance with speedy trial requirements—that responsibility belongs entirely to the system itself.

The broader implications extend beyond individual case management to systemic questions about how courts handle crisis-driven backlogs. The pandemic created genuine administrative challenges that required creative solutions, but those solutions had to operate within constitutional constraints. When temporary measures expire, normal protections resume immediately, regardless of whether underlying problems persist.