MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There’s another push to keep Shelby County safer — this time, by focusing on the court system.
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright took to Facebook Monday, offering solutions to catch up on the 17,000 criminal cases awaiting trial in the county. He said enough is enough.
“I think the public needs to be aware that so little activity is happening in the criminal courts, and that’s having a direct impact on the crime that we’re seeing in our community,” he said.
With 17,000 criminal cases, ranging from theft to murder, awaiting trial in the system, we learned that only 40 of those cases were tried in 2023.
“I think because people who have been accused of violent crimes, their trials are not proceeding forward and are just being held back. I think we’re seeing a problem of reoffenders,” Wright said.
According to CNN, Detroit faced a very similar problem and actively worked to clear a backlog of 4,000 felony gun cases. That resulted in an 18 percent reduction in homicides, the lowest in nearly 60 years.
Meanwhile, in Memphis, we saw a record-high number, 398 homicides, in 2023.
“The victims need justice, and the system and the constitution guarantees you speedy justice, but right now, we’re not meeting that guarantee,” Wright said.
It’s something retired Judge Robert Carter pointed out when he addressed the Shelby County Commission after a months-long criminal court review.
“These delays are catastrophic to the efficient organization of the justice system,” Carter said.
So now, the focus is on how to fix it. Wright suggested allowing jury trials to happen several days throughout the week and bringing in the help of circuit court judges.
But he said so far, the courts have not responded.
“We have not heard anything back from the court. We have not heard any plan from the criminal courts of how they’re planning to take care of the backlog,” Wright said.
He said if the judges do not present a plan, the commission could be forced to cut funding.
We reached out to court leader Judge Chris Craft and District Attorney Steve Mulroy. We’ll let you know when we hear back.
