Summit County: Verdict Pending

The Richins matter, as reported by KPCW, appears to be drawing to a close, though ‘closure’ is a generous term when one considers the ripple effect on traffic patterns around the Marsac Avenue corridor. Forty-two witnesses. Forty-two. One assumes each required separate parking accommodations within The Marsac Building lot, already insufficient during peak ski season. The defense, with its repeated motions for mistrial – four, mind you – simply compounds the inefficiency. Frankly, Summit County’s legal apparatus seems driven less by swift justice and more by the deliberate obstruction of forward momentum. Prosecutor Bloodworth, despite his lengthy summation, cannot manufacture additional hours in the day. Nor can he magically widen SR-224. Lewis’s critique of the investigation being ‘sloppy’ is merely a deflection from the core issue: everything in this county requires three times the planning and twice the personnel. High Valley Transit is undoubtedly bracing for increased demand should jurors require transport home. One could argue, and I do frequently, that a dedicated judicial bypass route is long overdue. The entire system needs streamlining. Immediately.