A Fairfax County conviction for shooting someone during a drug deal was thrown out because prosecutors waited too long to bring the case to trial. The case carries a Reston-area connection, according to FFXnow, which reported on the ruling Aug. 27.

Virginia's Court of Appeals reversed the 2023 unlawful wounding conviction on July 14, ruling that the defendant, identified in court records as C.W., spent 158 days in custody before trial. Virginia's speedy trial law caps that at roughly 152 days. The ruling affects how Fairfax County prosecutors handle cases that depend on state forensic lab results.

The six-day overshoot traced to a DNA backlog at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. Prosecutors asked for more time after learning that evidence submitted in April 2023 still hadn't been assigned to a lab analyst four months later. The trial court granted the delay over the defense's objection.

The attorney general's office filed a notice on Aug. 10 that it intends to appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. No hearing date has been set.

What happened

C.W. was 16 when he was charged in 2023 with aggravated malicious wounding, robbery and firearm offenses. The Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court certified the charges to a circuit court grand jury on April 12, 2023, starting the speedy trial clock.

A trial date was set for July 17, 2023. On July 14, 2023, the defense requested a continuance to Sept. 12, waiving the speedy trial deadline for that stretch.

Then the prosecution hit a wall. On Aug. 30, 2023, prosecutors filed their own motion to continue. At a Sept. 8, 2023, hearing, they told the court that DNA evidence submitted to the Department of Forensic Science on April 14, 2023, had not been assigned to an analyst.

The circuit court pushed the trial to Nov. 13, 2023, and denied C.W.'s request for bond, citing safety concerns. The DNA results finally came back on Oct. 13, 2023, 182 days after submission.

A jury convicted C.W. of the lesser charge of unlawful wounding and a firearm offense, acquitting him of robbery. The firearm conviction was later set aside. He was sentenced to five years.

The ruling

Judge Kevin M. Duffan, writing for a three-judge panel, found that the DNA lab delay did not qualify as an exception under Virginia Code § 19.2-243. The statute's recognized exceptions all relate to witness availability, the court noted, not forensic processing.

The panel calculated that 158 days counted against the prosecution's deadline. That is six more than the law allows.

The court warned that accepting the prosecution's argument would let a defendant's speedy trial rights hinge entirely on the forensic lab's internal staffing decisions, with no outer limit on pretrial custody.

What it means for prosecutors

Corrina Barrett Lain, the George E. Allen Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law and a former prosecutor, told FFXnow the ruling carries a clear message for prosecutors statewide.

"This is a very unusual case. This is [a] confluence of events that created an outcome that had a number of different off-ramps, and…for whatever reason, none of those off-ramps were used," Lain said.

She questioned why prosecutors sought the continuance at all, given the evidence and a witness to the offense, rather than proceeding to trial without the DNA results. Lain is leading three workshops this fall on the ruling for public defenders, law clerks and judges.

DFS Chief Deputy Director Amy Jenkins said in a statement to FFXnow that the agency averaged 159 days to turn around forensic biology cases in 2023. She said demand and complexity have outpaced available resources.

The Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office declined to comment on whether any internal policy changes followed the ruling. The attorney general's office did not respond to FFXnow's requests for comment.

The Virginia General Assembly funded additional forensic scientist positions for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Four new hires are in training.