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More than two years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly a quarter of incarcerated people awaiting their day in court in San Francisco<\/a> county are being held beyond their original trial deadlines, with some individuals waiting for years for their cases to be heard.<\/p>\n In June 2020, in the early months of the pandemic, 68 people were incarcerated in the county past their original trial deadlines, according to data from the public defender. By January 2022, the latest data available, that number had grown to nearly 250. Hundreds more are awaiting trial out of custody.<\/p>\n California state law stipulates that those accused of crimes are entitled to a speedy trial \u2013 30 to 60 days following their arraignment, depending on the nature of the crime. But backlogs in the court system, made worse by the pandemic, have obliterated those deadlines, often at significant cost to the mental health and wellbeing of those imprisoned, and their loved ones.<\/p>\n