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March 22, 2021Topeka, Kan. |  By: AP

Lawmakers take up backlog of court cases caused by pandemic


TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislators are working to give prosecutors and courts time to clear a backlog of several thousand criminal cases that built up during the coronavirus pandemic, though they disagree about how much is enough time.

The Senate approved a bill Wednesday night that would suspend until May 1, 2023, a law aimed at protecting criminal defendants' constitutional right to a speedy trial. 

The law requires cases to come to trial within five months of a defendant who has been jailed entering a plea, and within six months if the defendant is free on bond.

Lawmakers say there's a backlog of about 5,000 criminal cases. Prosecutors worry many of them will have to be dismissed if the deadlines are not suspended.