How have courts considered the principle of "well in advance" in determining whether to delay a defendant's trial?

[169 Cal.App.3d 434] The real party also cites Rhinehart v. Municipal Court, supra, to support this alleged principle. However, in Rhinehart, real party's contention isn't even factually correct. In that case, as real party acknowledges, the trial court did not know of its calendar congestion until two days before the defendant's last day. It is difficult to understand how this fits the suggested requirement of being aware of the necessary delay "well in advance."

The real party also cites Lewis v. Superior Court (1981) 122 Cal.App.3d 494, 176 Cal.Rptr. 80 to support its position although we are at a loss to understand how it provides such support. In that case, the defendant's trial was delayed beyond the statutory limits due to a trial judge training session attended by a large number of judges whose absence resulted in court congestion. However, contrary to real party's contention, the appellate court held this conference was not the cause of the delay, it was the failure of the trial court to recall judges from the conference once the delay was apparent that was the cause. Having isolated the cause, the court stated this was not good cause for the delay. The trial court reached this conclusion even though the congestion resulting from the training session was not foreseeable. As the court stated: "For, while it could be foreseen that the problem that developed might arise, it could not be foretold that it would arise." (Id., at p. 498, 176 Cal.Rptr. 80.) (Emphasis in original.)