A Flint police officer was shot in March, and the man accused of pulling the trigger still hasn't faced a preliminary examination — because the court couldn't be bothered to subpoena a witness. For ordinary Americans who depend on the system to work, this is the latest proof that it doesn't.
Judge Jennifer J. Manley rescheduled Delon Savage's preliminary examination to Oct. 28 after prosecutors acknowledged a key witness hadn't been properly subpoenaed for Wednesday's hearing. Manley said she was "not happy" to adjourn the matter, noting the victim's absence was not voluntary — but she granted the delay anyway. The machinery of justice grinds on; the people it's supposed to serve just wait.
Savage, 47, faces a stack of charges: assault with intent to murder, assaulting a police officer causing serious impairment, unlawful imprisonment, domestic violence, discharge of a firearm from a vehicle causing injury, and multiple firearms offenses. According to investigators, officers responded to reports that Savage was attempting to force a woman into a vehicle when Officer Michael Catlin arrived at the scene. Catlin was shot and wounded in the exchange of gunfire. Savage was injured during a subsequent chase.
This isn't Savage's only brush with the system. He currently has three active criminal cases in district court — including the attempted murder case — and two additional cases pending in Genesee County circuit court. A man with five open cases allegedly shoots a cop, and the court can't manage basic procedure. Savage also told the court he still needed X-rays for injuries sustained in the March incident, adding another layer of delay.
Prosecutors offered to begin testimony with a police officer who was present, but admitted they couldn't complete the examination without the missing witness. So nothing happened. Another month added to the clock. Officer Catlin waits. The community waits.
The reform crowd talks endlessly about "equity" and "decarceration" while cases like this rot on the docket. A cop gets shot responding to a reported kidnapping, the suspect racks up case after case, and the system's response is a scheduling error. The same people who demand accountability from police can't deliver accountability from the courts.
Every day a case like this drags on is a day the system tells victims their suffering is administrative. There is no reform that fixes a court that can't issue a subpoena on time.
