Judge shortage forces Riverside County courts to dismiss hundreds of cases

All Richard Lilya wants is to see his day in court. Unfortunately, because of a shortage of judges, he might not get it. 

"it was dismissed and it was really, it's really quite sad," Lilya said while crying.

Three years ago, an alleged DUI driver ran Lilya over in Riverside County, leaving him with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. 

"My head and helmet impacted the windshield and I lost consciousness," he said. "When I woke up I was being [dragged] underneath a car at a high rate of speed." 

Lilya's case against the driver who allegedly ran him over was one of over 200 misdemeanor and felony cases, including many domestic violence cases, dismissed by the Riverside County Superior Court over the past week. 

"The public's depending on all of us for public safety and we're failing them," said Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin. 

The mass dismissal of cases stems from a backlog of 2800 hundred criminal cases initially delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic and an apparent shortage of judges in county courts. 

"Judges are choosing to simply do mass dismissals or blanket dismissals and say 'We don't have the courtrooms,'" said Hestrin. "' So, we're gonna dismiss all these cases.'"

According to Riverside County Presiding Judge John Monterosso, the area has 3.7 judicial officers per 100,000 residents. The statewide average is 11.4 per 100,000.

This apparent shortage has left judges with the decision to either add another case to the ever-growing backlog or dismiss the case outright. 

"While the law allows a court to continue a case beyond the statutory deadline for good cause," Monterosso said in a statement. "It is settled law that backlogs due to a chronic shortage of judges is not good cause to continue a criminal case."

Hestrin believes the mass dismissal is an attempt to get lawmakers' attention. However, the distraught Lilya showed no empathy for the judge that dismissed his case. 

"The criminal has the right to have this dismissed because they have the right to a speedy trial — because of COVID," he said. "What about me? Why wait three years to tell me, 'Sorry it's not important enough. We don't have the time."

Hestrin said he plans to re-file some of these felony criminal cases in the future.