Buchanan

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Arrests and the Filing of the Complaints The procedural history for each of these cases is, for our purposes, identical. Law enforcement officers separately arrested Buchanan and Downs for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) in violation of Vehicle Code section 23152 and released each with a Judicial Council of California Form TR-130 Notice to Appear. Buchanan and Downs each signed their respective notice to appear—each of which included the issuing officer’s declaration alleging the facts of the misdemeanor violation—agreeing to appear in court on a specified date and time more than 25 days later. The court date specified on each notice to appear passed without the filing of charges as to either defendant, but the District Attorney ultimately filed charges against each defendant just as the one-year statute of limitations for misdemeanor DUIs was about to expire. Buchanan and Downs were arraigned about 90 days after the District Attorney filed charges, and nearly 15 months after arrest.

Date Buchanan Downs Arrest and Notice to Appear August 18, 2019 …