A juvenile court’s improper grant of a prosecutor’s request for an eight-day recess in a juvenile jurisdictional hearing did not amount to prejudice entitling the minor to relief. The Court of Appeal agreed that the minors speedy trial rights were violated when the prosecutor misrepresented his readiness for the jurisdictional hearing in spite of the unavailability of a key witness, and further agreed that the juvenile court abused its discretion in granting a recess in the hearing until the witness became available. However, the court held that the minor had not established that either error had amounted to a miscarriage of justice sufficient to justify reversal of the jurisdictional order. Thus, the error was harmless.
Case Summaries
