Patricia A. Bogan v. Denton County District Attorney Office, et al.

' r.» • ^ . \ 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS 1) In 2019, the issue arose whether a court could dismiss for want of prosecution at a time after the statute of limitations had run. The statefs argument was that the effect of such a dismissal would be "with prejudice," because they would be barred from re-bringing the case. In State v. Banks, 348 Ga. App. 876 (2019), and State v. Walker, 356 Ga. App. 170 (2020), the Georgia Court of Appeals sided with the State and held that the trial courts could not dismiss for want of prosecution after the statute of limitations had run. Georgia courts have long exercised the inherent authority to dismiss criminal cases for want of prosecution. This typically occurs when the state has not met its burden to proceed for a trial call or has simply sat on a case for an extended period of time. It has also been used when the State has not met its statutory discovery obligations in a manner which delays the trial of the case. In other words, it is a method of the judge exercising control of the court's docket.