State ex rel. Fort v. Driver

MANN, Judge.

A Crucial witness in the State’s first degree murder case against Fort testified at a hearing on the State’s motion for extension of time that she was in fear and left the state for her own safety. She is now in protective custody at an undisclosed location. The trial judge found, correctly, that there was no showing that “the accused has caused major delay or disruption of preparation of proceedings, as by preventing the attendance of witnesses or otherwise,” CrPR 3.191(f) (vi), 33 F.S.A., but that the delay was justified by exceptional circumstances. CrPR 3.191(f) (iii) permits…