SACRAMENTO – State Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, has introduced Senate Bill 453 to address the mass court dismissals of backlogged criminal cases.Existing law guarantees criminal defendants’ right to a fair and speedy trial, and therefore certain deadlines need to be met in order for a criminal case to move forward, or it may be dismissed. While current California law allows extensions to be made in criminal cases where there is “good cause,” it does not define what “good cause” actually means.Unfortunately, this legal ambiguity has led to the release of defendants charged with violent and dangerous crimes. In Riverside County alone, over 1,000 criminal matters were dismissed in a 10-week period in late 2022, including charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadl
