Overruling lower court case law that made it harder for defendants to win a speedy trial argument, the Georgia Supreme Court has handed at least a temporary victory to a man who said Fulton County prosecutors didn’t try him fast enough on his driving under the influence charges.
As recounted in the May 19 Supreme Court opinion, defendant John Williamson was charged in July 2011 with DUI and failure to maintain his lane. On Nov. 2, 2011, Williamson filed a speedy trial demand under a Georgia statute that says a defendant may demand that he be tried within two court terms, which generally last two months. On Jan. 25, 2012, when he still hadn’t been tried, he filed a motion for acquittal based on the speedy trial statute.
