Commonwealth v. Williams

Although the law often provides room for the courts to' forgive procedural missteps, in some cases it affirmatively denies such discretion. The Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (IADA or Act),1 which requires dismissal with prejudice of any charges untimely tried, falls into the latter category. In my view, by conflating its analysis of the Act with the analysis of Pennsylvania’s similar but distinct “Prompt Trial” rule,2 which lacks the IADA’s more demanding requirements and its mandatory sanction, the trial court erred in declining to dismiss with prejudice the charges against…