Why February 10 Is Not a Guaranteed Ruling Date
Author: Quincy K. / Contributing Writer: Flexburger
There are a lot of people who are expecting a ruling/update on Daniel’s competency on 2/10 (Tuesday). However, it's probably not going to happen on 2/10, and instead will likely be closer to this Thursday, Friday, or potentially even early next week. Yes, we know… it sucks.
The 2/10 filing deadline was for when the judge wanted the parties to submit their speedy trial calculations (as pictured below), not necessarily when she would rule on Daniel’s competency. Also, the judge has a trial every day this week so her time is limited.
Screenshot from the Feb 3rd hearing document.
On the 10th, both parties (the defense & prosecution) must submit their views on how the speedy trial timeline shall be calculated. Because the law strictly limits how long cases can be delayed, and Daniel’s hearing was postponed while he was in treatment, the judge wants both sides to agree on the timeline. This helps prevent future appeals claiming Daniel’s right to a speedy trial was violated.
The speedy trial calculation matters now that they're ruling on what is happening next:
If found competent: The trial must move forward within the remaining speedy trial time, so the judge needs to know exactly how much time is left.
If found incompetent: Another 4 month restoration period may be allowed, but the judge has to make sure the statutory timing remains lawful and properly excluded.
The judge requested the time calculation, so when she rules on whether he's competent or not, she can immediately include the timeline for trial or timeline for another treatment cycle.
As of 4pm on 2/9, the parties submitted their speedy trial calculation. The judge still needs to evaluate the calculation and make a final ruling which may take a few days.
2/9’s speedy trial calculation document.
Is there a small 10-20% chance this article ages horribly and we actually do get the results on the 10th? Yes. But when/if absolutely nothing happens on Tuesday, Larsonians will now know why.
EDIT: Feb 10 has now passed and no ruling has been published as we expected.
FEB 17 EDIT (7:30PM EST) - The court blue balls us once again. It’s been a drawn-out, tedious 14 days since the last hearing and 7 days since the speedy trial calc. submission. The judge just has to decide on Daniel's competency, which, in theory, is an important decision, but after 2 days of hearings and reports, we’d have to imagine she knew what she'd rule 2 weeks ago. Right now, she just needs to put it into writing and rule on it, which can sometimes take time because she's likely to include case law and reference other cases in the ruling, but still, it shouldn't take an overly long amount of time like this.
Right as the result is released, we’ll spread the message both on here and our Twitter/X accounts.
To sum it up, today (Feb 9), the parties submitted the speedy trial calculation. Now, the judge is evaluating their submission and will on Daniel's competency which might not be until later in the week (Thursday or Friday) or potentially even early next week. We'll be the first to break the news and keep you updates as details are available.
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