In a jointly charged action, Penal Code section 859b requires dismissal of a felony complaint against a defendant who does not consent to a continuance of the preliminary hearing to a time more than 60 days from arraignment, even if the codefendant agrees to or requests a continuance. Penal Code section 859b, an implementation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial, creates a statutory right of the defendant to a preliminary hearing within ten court days but no more than sixty days from the date of arraignment or entry of a not guilty plea. A defendant’s consent to a continuance within the 60-day period does not toll the running of the sixty days. Absent a defendant’s personal waiver, this right is absolute and a failure to hold the hearing within the sixty days requires mandatory dismissal without any showing of prejudice. Penal Code section 1050.1, dealing with joinder, does not create an exception to this right.
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