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Court finds failure to appear in Vicky Chester case; speedy-trial clock tolled and case rescheduled
Summary
At a virtual court calendar, the judge found a failure to appear for defendant Vicky Chester, tolled the speedy-trial clock and resummoned the case for a later date after defense counsel said the client had emailed but not joined the hearing.
At a court calendar hearing, the judge found that defendant Vicky Chester failed to appear and tolled the speedy-trial clock, rescheduling the matter for a later date.
The ruling came after Sean Parent, attorney for Vicky Chester, told the court that his client had emailed him shortly before the scheduled hearing and that he had left a voicemail asking her to join by Zoom. Court staff announced that "the defendant has not appeared," and the judge said she would find a failure to appear and toll Speedy.
The judge said she would resummon Chester and discussed alternative dates with counsel and the clerk; the parties settled on a future docket entry recorded in the case as 04/21 at 9 a.m. The court instructed that Speedy would restart when Chester reappears.
Prosecutor Miss McDonald asked the court to issue a warrant for failure to appear and said she was not requesting a large warrant but believed one was necessary. Defense counsel Parent asked the court to note the FTA and to resummon instead of issuing an immediate warrant.
The clerk confirmed there had been a waiver on the record in September that the case was a bench trial; the judge directed the clerk to note the waiver in the docket. No trial date was finalized at the hearing; the court struck previously set trial dates and noted the matter would return on the later rescheduled date.
The court's action was procedural: a judicial finding of failure to appear, tolling of the speedy-trial period, and a resummons. The clerk and counsel exchanged scheduling options on the record before the judge finalized the rescheduling.
The docket will reflect the court's finding and the new appearance date; counsel and prosecution were instructed to note the entry and proceed according to the rescheduled calendar.
