While acknowledging that a federal judge appropriately “fell on the sword” by taking blame for a speedy trial violation, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that her dismissal of the defendant’s indictment without prejudice was not a stringent-enough remedy for the error.
Overruling Eastern District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, the 2-1 panel reversed Raheem Bert’s conviction and dismissed his indictment on weapons charges with prejudice after finding the judge failed to give proper weight to the harm done to Bert’s defense during the nine months it took her to rule on his suppression motion.
