(a) The issues on the calendar shall be disposed of in the following order, unless for good cause the court directs an action to be tried out of its order:
(1) Prosecutions for felony, when the defendant is in custody.
(2) Prosecutions for misdemeanor, when the defendant is in custody.
(3) Prosecutions for felony, when the defendant is on bail.
(4) Prosecutions for misdemeanor, when the defendant is on bail.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), all criminal actions in which (1) a minor is detained as a material witness or is the victim of the alleged offense, (2) a person who was 70 years of age or older at the time of the alleged offense or is a dependent adult, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 368, was a witness to, or is the victim of, the alleged offense or (3) any person is a victim of an alleged violation of Section 261, 262, 264.1, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 288, 288a, or 289, committed by the use of force, violence, or the threat thereof, shall be given precedence over all other criminal actions in the order of trial. In those actions, continuations shall be granted by the court only after a hearing and determination of the necessity thereof, and in any event, the trial shall be commenced within 30 days after arraignment, unless for good cause the court shall direct the action to be continued, after a hearing and determination of the necessity of the continuance, and states the findings for a determination of good cause on the record.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to provide a statutory right to a trial within 30 days.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 867, Sec. 23. (SB 1144) Effective January 1, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018