People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court

In People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, 933 P.2d 583, 588 (Colo. 1997), the supreme court indicated that "charging a continuance of the trial date to the defendant is appropriate if continuing the trial date is necessary to allow . . . counsel to prepare for trial." However, the Gallagher court found that there was nothing in the record to indicate that the defendant did anything to necessitate the continuance. Because of an unrelated conflict of interest, new defense counsel was required and needed time to prepare. The court ruled that the delay was not chargeable to the defendant because the trial court should have made a reasonable attempt to find an attorney to represent the defendant within the speedy trial time period. People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, supra.