A judge Monday freed three accused drug dealers because they hadn't seen a lawyer for weeks, and charges against them could be dropped. A prosecutor warned he was "concerned about the safety of the community."
Superior Court Judge Peter Velis' decision followed a Supreme Judicial Court ruling in July that defendants held for more than seven days without seeing a lawyer must be released -- and that charges must be dropped against those who haven't had access to an attorney for more than 45 days.
The defendants had been in jail without seeing lawyers for 88, 105 and 126 days, respectively. "The issue stems from a standoff between court-appointed attorneys and the court system over how much lawyers are paid for representing poor defendants." Details here from the AP via the San Francisco Chronicle.