A state appeals court ordered a Yakima man's 2020 rape conviction permanently dismissed, saying prosecutors took too long to bring him to trial.
A three-judge panel of the Spokane-based Division III Court of Appeals said prosecutors violated Bradley Kenneth Denton's right to a speedy trial by citing delays processing evidence at the Washington State Patrol's crime lab without providing sufficient proof they were trying to get the results sooner.
Chief Judge Laurel Siddoway, who was joined in the published opinion by Judges George Fearing and Rebecca Pennell, overturned Denton's conviction and ordered the case dismissed with prejudice, meaning that prosecutors can never refile it.
"We deplore this outcome given the violent nature of Mr. Denton's crimes, but it is the strict remedy that drafters of the (criminal court) rule perceived as needed to ensure that criminal cases will be promptly prepared for trial and heard," Siddoway wrote in the decision.
Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic said late Tuesday he was reviewing the 27-page ruling and is considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
As a published opinion, the ruling is considered a legal precedent that can be cited in other cases.
Denton, 43, described in court records as a methamphetamine user, was charged with second-degree rape, felony protection order violation and four gross misdemeanor counts of violating a protection order after Yakima police said he choked and raped a woman he knew in April 2018, according to court documents.
He was arrested in October 2018 and arraigned in early November, which started a 60-day countdown for his trial to begin at the end of December.
A Yakima County Superior Court judge extended that date in December due in part to prosecutors waiting for the state crime lab to process the woman's clothes for DNA evidence.
On Jan. 3, 2019, the 60-day period was reset when Denton's court-appointed attorney had to withdraw for health reasons. At a Jan. 29 hearing, prosecutors said they were looking at a "best-case scenario" of nine months for the DNA tests to be completed. The trial date was reset to June 17, 2019, over Denton's objections.
A month before that trial date, prosecutors again asked for an extension on the trial date, again citing the crime lab delay. This time a delay was granted until July, after Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Garrison Hersey said he asked if the crime lab could "make it a rush," with results expected in no more than six weeks.
Not knowing what defense Denton was going to offer, Hersey said having the DNA evidence was critical to the case. Hersey also referred to the speedy-trial guidelines as "aspirational."
Two more delays were granted, one for the defense to allow time to prepare for the case after the DNA evidence came back, and again when every judge except Judge Richard Bartheld recused themselves from hearing the case.
Denton was finally tried in January 2020, more than a year after his initial arraignment. At the trial, he was found guilty on all counts.
While Denton raised several issues on appeal, the appellate court found the 15-month delay in his trial by itself warranted a reversal and dismissal.
The appellate court found that superior court judges had abused their discretion in rescheduling the trial due to crime lab delays, noting that backlogs either in the courts or the crime lab are "rarely" authorized under court rules.
"In the exceptional cases where they are, it has been based on a detailed showing of the nature of the congestion or backlog, the steps the prosecution has taken to get around the congestion or backlog, and a reasonable time frame within which the case can be brought to trial," Siddoway wrote in the appellate ruling.
In Denton's case the delays at the crime lab were characterized as "expected and routine" without providing evidence of the reasons for the backlog or what efforts were being made to get around it beyond Hersey's "hearsay" comment that he asked if the results could be given a higher priority after they had been at the lab for more than six months, the opinion said.
She said going to a private, certified laboratory might be required in the future if the state lab cannot "provide a competitive turnaround time for forensic testing."
Yakima County is using almost $3 million in federal funds to create a regional crime intelligence center where rapid DNA tests can be performed.
Siddoway also rejected Yakima County's arguments that the case should not be dismissed because Denton's attorney agreed to the delays, noting that there was no legal reason Denton couldn't appeal the delay even if his attorney agreed to it.
