Fayette County State Court Judge Jason B. Thompson has denied Tiffany Haddish’s bid to throw out her DUI case, keeping the matter alive and on track for the August 2026 trial calendar unless that ruling is changed or appealed. In a seven-page order, Thompson said the record did not show the kind of specific prejudice needed to erase the case.
The ruling answers the question that has followed Haddish’s case through years of delays: it is not over yet. She was arrested by Peachtree City police on Jan. 14, 2022, and the case has now moved through roughly four and a half years of proceedings since that arrest, with prosecutors filing a formal accusation in January 2023. For readers looking for the reason this matters now, this week’s order is the latest point at which the case could have ended before trial.
Thompson said the delay grew out of repeated continuances, attorney scheduling conflicts, court workload and Haddish’s late assertion of speedy trial rights. The case was continued 15 times because of attorney conflicts, leaves of absence and continuance requests, according to the order, and Haddish’s lawyers filed three letters of conflict and 15 notices of leave of absence during the life of the case. He also wrote that the court repeatedly accommodated her professional schedule while the matter remained pending.
That accommodation is central to why the judge rejected the dismissal request. Haddish remained free on bond throughout the proceedings, and Thompson said she was allowed to waive one court appearance, leave another hearing early to catch a flight and travel to Morocco to take part in a fashion show. Her attorneys argued that the prolonged case caused anxiety and hurt her career, but Thompson said the defense offered no evidence that the delay caused specific harm to her ability to defend herself.
The underlying charges are DUI Less Safe, DUI Drugs, DUI Per Se, failure to obey a traffic control device, improper stopping on the roadway and a parking violation. The case spent about nine months in Peachtree City Municipal Court before it was transferred to Fayette County State Court, where the pace slowed further as the case moved through continuances and scheduling problems. Haddish did not formally assert her constitutional right to a speedy trial until May 11, 2026, a detail Thompson said weighed against dismissal.
Thompson’s written order leaves the case on the August 2026 trial calendar, and his language was direct: “Given the Defendant’s delay in asserting her right to speedy trial and failure to provide demonstrable actual prejudice, the Plea in Bar is DENIED,” he wrote. Haddish, known publicly as a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning comedian and actress, now faces the same choice every defendant in a delayed case eventually faces: press ahead to trial or seek another way to stop the clock.
