Court Backlog Again on the Rise and Delaying Murder Trials
Billy Kreder
Budget cuts to the Yakima county court system are delaying murder trials which can be difficult for the families involved. One murder victim's family says every day a trial is pushed back is another day without justice.
Not a day goes by without Danette Baeza-Garcia feeling pain over the murder of her son William Kreder last December in Yakima.
"People say it's going to get better, you know you can think about him and have, feel happy times, but that hasn't happened for me yet," says Baeza-Garcia.
After several delays, the trial for his accused killer, Alexander Quintana is now set for September 13th. But an overloaded Yakima county court system may push the trial date back further, delaying closure for Kreder's family. Just this week another murder trial was delayed because the courtrooms are all full. The thought of more waiting is unbearable for Kreder's mother.
"Just like a kick in the heart all over again," says Baeza-Garcia.
"Obviously victims are living this everyday, so that's a big concern," says court adminstrator Harold Delia.
Budget cuts to the court system are threatening to reverse progress the prosecutor's office and others have made to reduce the case backlog. When the courts began whittling down the backlog about two years ago, they were behind about 1,500 cases. They got that number down to about 918 at the beginning of this year. But because of budget cuts to the court, that number has crept back up to 1,050.
Court administrators say they no longer have the money and manpower to keep up with cases.
"The person who really was the instigator and overseer of the backlog is retiring. Because of budget cuts we're simply not going to replace her," says Delia.
Dates are set for other murder trials. But with Yakima county having to make more budget cuts, they too could be delayed. All the courts can do is to comfort the families, saying that justice will come someday.
"They're trying to reassure them that we will get this case done, it's gonna just ta
ke a little bit longer," says Delia.
"Even though nothing's gonna bring Billy back, it makes us wait that much more for justice," says Baeza-Garcia.
Court administrators also say even though the backlog may increase, new systems in place should keep the backlog from growing quickly.