State v. A. Powers

Summary

The Court held that missing the 90-day deadline for reviewing a defendant’s fitness to proceed does not automatically require dismissal of the criminal case. Dismissal under the governing provision requires findings that the defendant remains unfit and is unlikely to become fit within the reasonably foreseeable future, while excessive delay may instead be addressed under the related resumption provision. The Court affirmed because Powers regained fitness before the case was dismissed and did not argue that resuming the proceedings would be unjust.