Beginning Oct. 1, criminal defendants in Illinois will once again be able to effectively invoke their right to a speedy trial, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered Wednesday.

       The state’s highest court last year ordered that speedy trial deadlines could be suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ordinarily, defendants can formally demand trial, at which point prosecutors have a specific time frame in which they must bring them to trial or the case is dismissed.

       Wednesday’s order restores those time frames, effective Oct. 1.

       In addition, the higher court ordered Wednesday that individual county court systems are now able to determine their own social distancing guidelines or eliminate them entirely, as the pandemic appears to wane.

       The plaza outside of the Leighton Criminal Court Building days before it reopened on July 2, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

       But it is the speedy trial issue that has caused much uncertainty among attorneys, judges and defendants alike. The restored deadlines will again give defendants significant leverage to take cases to trial.

       Some defense attorneys at the Leighton Criminal Court Building have attempted to formally demand trial on behalf of their clients during the pandemic, only to be told by judges that their demands have no teeth due to the state Supreme Court’s orders.

       A spokesperson for Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office could not immediately be reached for comment on how Wednesday’s orders might affect county courts.

       mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

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