BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The backlog of trials in Massachusetts courts is skyrocketing, and the right to a speedy trial has been slowed down due to COVID-19.
With all trials put on hold at the start of the pandemic, there are currently more than 100,000 cases are waiting to meet a judge in the Commonwealth.
Criminal defense attorney Ed Hayden has previously represented a friend of the Boston Marathon bomber, and the teenager accused of beheading another teen in Lawrence. He now has four clients accused of murder, but he said he has so much preparation time since the courts closed, that he could go to trial for any of them tomorrow.
Hayden told WBZ NewsRadio his larger concern is about what happens when the courts open back up.
"People in Middlesex are going to say 'let's go,' and they don't care what I've got in Essex and Suffolk," he said. "It's going to get really busy.
For the most part, Hayden said most people involved in the courts are being patient as the justice system tries to deal with the impact of the pandemic.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal reports:
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Written by Brit Smith
(Photo: Getty Images)