Commonwealth v. Norton

BY JUDGE D. ARTHUR KELSEY

The defendant, Andrew Thomas Norton, claims the Commonwealth violated his statutory right to a speedy trial by failing to bring his case to trial within die five-month time limit of Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-243 (Michie 2000). The Commonwealth missed die deadline because (i) the Commonwealth was unable to secure Norton’s presence on the date of the Isle of Wight trial because he had a court appearance in Hampton on that same day, and (ii) die Commonwealth asked that the Me of Wight trial date be rescheduled, over the defendant’s objection, beyond the five-month period. The…