Peyton

Lamenting the delays associated with the orderly processing of criminal cases, Justice Macklin Fleming explained a popular way for a criminal defendant to avoid, or at least delay, trial: “sidetracking.” He describes this as diverting “the inquiry into a collateral issue. ... In the operation of a railway system to sidetrack a train is to switch it from the main line to a siding. In criminal law to sidetrack a cause is to divert the accusation from the pending issue [(guilt or innocence)] to some other issue, any issue, and then keep the prosecution [or the trial court] so occupied in litigating the side issue that the hearing of the accusation itself comes to a halt.” (Fleming, The Price of Perfect Justice (1974) p. 54.)

Appellant is the poster boy for sidetracking. As we shall explain, the principal sidetrack diversionary tactic was attacking the trial judge, Hon. David Hirsch. But there were other sidetracking diversionary tactics leading to numerous hearings. The central theme, however, was constant, i.e., personal attacks upon the integrity and honesty of other judges (at p. 1070, post), the prosecutor (at pp. 1074-1075, post) and the investigating detective (at p.…