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Appellant argues 18‑month delay and lost texts denied fair trial; court takes case under advisement
Summary
In oral argument, counsel for Frank Funkem asked a judicial panel to dismiss his conviction due to an 18‑month pre‑accusation delay and the loss of potentially exculpatory text messages; the State said the delay stemmed from investigatory and crime‑lab factors and that the defendant was not prejudiced. The court took the matter under advisement.
Pat McNally, counsel for appellant Frank Funkem, told a judicial panel that the 18‑month interval between the alleged September 26, 2020 incident and the indictment deprived his client of due process because key text‑message evidence was not preserved. McNally said the missing messages would have corroborated Funkem’s account that he believed contact was consensual and that their loss prevented a full presentation of the defense.
"These were text messages that were held by DLR and provided to the state for preparation for the trial," McNally said, arguing that the one‑sided preservation and the defendant’s loss of his phone created actual prejudice. He urged the court to weigh prejudice to the defendant heavily…
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