Earlier this week, an Olmsted County judge dismissed four of five charges against Nicholas Loomis, including felony drug and gross misdemeanor DWI charges. The dismissal was based upon the judge’s finding that the State of Minnesota, represented by the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office, violated Loomis’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.
The issue in the case dated back to September 21, 2017, when Loomis appeared in court for a pretrial hearing for the drug and DWI charges. At the time, he was set to have a trial on those charges four days later. At the hearing, the State made a surprise motion to add another pending charge against Loomis to the case set for trial. The judge presiding over the hearing denied the motion. The next day, the State filed a notice of dismissal, explicitly stating in the notice that it was dismissing the charges so that they could be added to the other pending case. In other words, the State deliberately circumvented the judge’s order from one day prior. This action led to a delay of over nine-and-a-half months.
When the State later refiled the dismissed charges in the other pending case, Loomis sought to dismiss those charges, contending that the State violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial. The motion to dismiss was granted this week. The judge’s order and memorandum dismissing the charges was critical of the State’s actions, noting that it deliberately circumvented a court order and, in the process, caused significant prejudice to Loomis. Loomis will now proceed to trial on the one remaining charge.
Loomis previously prevailed in challenging civil penalites imposed as a result of the DWI arrest.
Loomis is represented by Attorney Grant Borgen.
