The People, Plaintiff and Appellant v. Firme Hassan Hajjaj, Defendant and Respondent

Summary

The court held that a defendant was not brought to trial within the statutory period when a courtroom and judge became available at a distant branch courthouse only at 4:15 p.m., because the defendant and counsel could not physically reach that courtroom before the close of business. It further held that chronic, state-attributable court congestion, including routine geographic and travel constraints, did not constitute good cause to extend the statutory deadline. The court therefore reversed the Court of Appeal and upheld dismissal under Penal Code section 1382.