Justice Center in downtown Cleveland

The Justice Center in downtown Cleveland.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty filed a motion Tuesday to remove 14 cases from the docket of Common Pleas Judge Joseph D. Russo because they have been pending for more than a year.

The motion asks Common Pleas Presiding Judge John J. Russo to transfer the cases to another judge's docket "to ensure that justice is not delayed and that neither the victim of crime nor the taxpayers are unduly burdened."

The motion says it costs more than $100 per day to house people in the county jail while their cases are pending. And if they are released while waiting for their trial to start, the court runs the risk of those suspects committing another crime.

"The criminal justice system isn't well served - nor are crime victims afforded justice - when courtrooms sit empty and yet we have a jail full of prisoners waiting for trial," McGinty said in a statement.

The move comes less than a week after McGinty penned a public letter to Common Pleas Presiding Judge John J. Russo complaining about cases that are taking too long.

In the letter, the prosecutor's office identified 83 criminal cases that are older than a year as of June 3, 2015. According to that list, the judge with the most year-long cases is Joseph D. Russo.

In his statement, McGinty said Judge Joseph D. Russo had 13 days of trial in the last 18 months.

Judge Joseph D. Russo did not return a call for comment.

The letter and motion both place the bulk of the blame on judges and defense attorneys, arguing that the majority of delays in court cases are the result of requests made by defense lawyers.

But defense attorney Michael Cheselka, contacted by Northeast Ohio Media Group on Tuesday, said defense lawyers are not the cause of all delays. Cheselka said court records often erroneously attribute delays to the defense when they were requested by prosecutors.

Cheselka is representing Devonta Hill, one of the 14 cases that prosecutors want to move to another judge. Hill faces charges in connection with the death of Kenneth C. Smith, who was shot by police. Hill was driving a car that Smith was a passenger in. Police at the time of the incident said Smith refused to comply with officers' orders and reached for an officer's gun.

Hill has been waiting in jail since January 29, 2013 for his trial to start. According to data from the prosecutor's office, nine delays in Hill's case can be attributed to the defense, and none to the prosecution. But Cheselka said it's the prosecutors who have been dragging their feet.

Cheselka also said that "faster does not mean better," and that when defense attorneys cause delays it's to make sure they have the best possible case for their client before starting trial.

Presiding Judge John Russo said he cannot comment on the motion to move cases. But in a statement responding to McGinty's letter, he noted that there are myriad reasons for delays, including police investigations, testing of forensic evidence, and the availability of witnesses.

"To simply provide a list of lengthy cases, which encompass a very small percentage of the total cases before the Court, distorts the reality of the Court's docket and effectiveness," the statement says.

According to a spokesman for the court, there were about 15,000 active cases pending in Common Pleas Court as of the end of June. Of those less than 3,400 are criminal cases.

Russo's statement says any cases that are taking too long are periodically reviewed by the court.

But McGinty's office insists prosecutors are ready to go to trial on these cases, but "the judge isn't."

"That's simply not fair to the victims or their families who get their hopes up each time only to be let down again and again, with no clear reason why," McGinty said in a statement Tuesday.

The letter and motion from McGinty's office follows a report recently circulated by the prosecutor that argues for shortening the amount of time people people spend in jail waiting for their trials to start.