Extensive media attention and public criticism has been directed at

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

court system A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

, due to delays in bringing cases to trial, which are seen by critics as a clear infringement of defendants' constitutional right to a speedy trial. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', the Bronx court system had 3,880 felony cases awaiting trial as of November 2013, of which 397 were older than two years. This accounted for over 47% of the total open felony cases older than two years in the New York City court system. Accused persons who are denied bail must remain in jail while awaiting trial, with some spending five years or more in pre-trial detention. Several explanations have been offered for the backlog of cases. One factor may be the economic condition of the Bronx, which is the poorest of New York City's

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

, thereby lacking "political clout to stir outrage and force reform". Some critics contend that high numbers of arrests in the borough, particularly for misdemeanor offenses, are the underlying source of the problem. Others believe that criminal attorneys deliberately delay trial proceedings, for example by routinely showing up late, or by employing time-wasting cross-examinations. In January 2013, judges from neighboring court districts were enlisted to help work through the case backlog, in a strategy termed "blockbuster". New York State chief judge

Jonathan Lippman Jonathan Lippman (born May 19, 1945) is an American jurist who served as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 2009 through 2015. He is currently Of Counsel in the Litigation & Trial Department of Latham & Watkins’ New York office ...

was quoted as saying the extra personnel working Bronx cases would eliminate the backlog within six months. Although the number of cases settled or brought to trial did increase during this time, ''The New York Times'' reported that as of July 2013, the number of outstanding cases remained "the largest in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

— more than

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and Staten Island combined."

Examples

In one case that received media attention, Michael Ikoli was charged with murder, accused of shooting two people at a roller-skating rink with a friend in 2004. He waited in Rikers Island for five years without a trial because of the backlog in the Bronx courts; it wasn't until October 2009 when the '' New York Daily News'' exposed the case as part of a story on the severe backlog of felony cases in the Bronx courts when his case was fast-tracked for trial, and in December 2009 he was acquitted of all charges when his trial ended. In May 2011, Ikoli was shot to death in the Bronx in a gang-related shooting.

References

{{reflist History of the Bronx Legal procedure Trials in the United States Legal history of New York (state) Speedy Trial Clause case law New York (state) state courts Criminal defense lawyers U.S. state criminal procedure