Fewer criminal cases are going to trial. But is that a bad thing?
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — WREG Investigators are digging deeper into the backlog at criminal court and what’s being done to fix it. We uncovered new data that shows fewer trials are happening — but depending on who you ask, that may not be a bad thing.
When COVID hit, the courts shut down and cases amassed. Crime has also increased adding to the massive pile.
“These delays are catastrophic,” Retired Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Bobby Carter said before county leaders in January.
Judge calls delays in Shelby County criminal court system ‘catastrophic’
He spent months reviewing the criminal court system at the request of the former Memphis mayor. Carter said before COVID, trials were common, and the courts were getting back to that tempo until 2022, when five new judges and a new district attorney were elected.
He said trials started to drastically decline. Some cases have been pending three or more years.
► Read Part 1 of this three-part series, What’s delaying criminal court cases
Carter said for the system to work, plea agreements have to happen. But with the delays and “without the assurance of a speedy trial,” a defendant has “no incentive” but to “delay their matter as long as possible.”
Those in the system said the longer it takes to resolve a case, the harder it is for a prosecutor to put on a good case. It also jeopardizes defendants’ right to a speedy trial. Some believe it poses a public safety threat since so many defendants are out on bond waiting for their case to be resolved.
The Shelby County Criminal Clerk’s office reports 41 trials in 2019 before COVID. That number was cut in half in 2022. There were 22 trials last year and nine in the first two months of this year.
“The reason I’m concerned about the lack of trials we have in Shelby County is because we have a backlog. There are hundreds of cases that have been decided we are going to trial on these cases,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
He said his office is trying to chip away at the backlog. They started fast-tracking cases that involve high-profile charges, supervisors are now meeting with prosecutors when cases take more than 60 days to indict, and they’ve become less inclined to reset trials.
He said in a press conference last week that his office is successfully trying more cases and are on track to double last year’s totals.
Why he believes that hasn’t been happening is because “some of the judges are recently elected and don’t have as much experience trying cases. In one instance, we have a criminal court division judge who is under indictment for a lengthy period of time on medical leave.”
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Some judges, however, see it differently. Criminal Court Judge Christopher Craft said in December that he used to try three cases a month.
“I haven’t worked more than one in three to four months. I can’t get a case to go to trial. A lot are settling or working themselves out,” he said.
We uncovered data from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Keep in mind, they tally the data by each charge filed. One person might face multiple charges or multiple people charged for the same crime.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, charges resulted in pleas 40 times more than a trial.
Just looking at the 739 homicide charges during that time, 55% were dismissed, about 10% were guilty pleas as charged, and 26% were guilty pleas with a lesser charge. Less than 1% resulted in a trial and conviction.
There were half the amount of homicide charges during the same time in 2018 through 2019.
But about the same number of pleas and dismissals. The big difference, 16% of homicide charges resulted in trials and a conviction.
We asked the DA’s office about the data multiple times over the past three weeks but have yet to hear back.
Mulroy did say, “If we didn’t have a backlog, we shouldn’t care if it was 100 trials or 10 trials, right? As long as the plea deals themselves are fair.”
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One criminal defense attorney agrees. He said negotiations have to happen to keep the system moving.
“When you negotiate, you get together and look at all those factors. There may be factors that don’t make their case strong anymore for first degree murder or something, or it really may be a case for second degree murder,” attorney Michael Scholl explained.
Nationwide, criminal court systems are dealing with this very issue. Like Shelby County, they are battling the same obstacles, like crime labs needing more funding and lagging on processing evidence.
Some courts were able to reduce their backlogs through virtual proceedings or like Detroit, brought it more judges to help and boosted prosecutors’ pay.
The county and state worked together, and along with other efforts, Detroit saw an 18 percent drop in homicides last year.
Mulroy said he thinks something like that would work in Shelby County.
So does the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce and 80 business leaders, who signed a letter asking the state to surge available resources to tackle the backlog.
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A local senator and local commissioner said they’ve talked to several circuit court judges who are willing to volunteer. As they also make threats to pull funding if things don’t speed up.
► On News Channel 3 at 10 p.m. Wednesday:
Murloy said his office is also constantly collecting data to find ways to improve, and now, a group of citizens is also collecting data.
They want to take matters into their own hands to see what needs to change at 201. We will show you what they’re doing and why they need more help.
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