An out-of-state mother called the Ombudsman to complain that an Alaska District Attorney was delaying her son’s trial. The woman said that her son had terminal cancer and the delay in his court case was preventing him from returning to his home state to die with his family. While matters of court are generally outside the jurisdiction of this office, the Ombudsman decided to contact the son’s public defender due to the severity of the allegation. It turned out that the public defender was unaware of the medical condition, and agreed to request that the prosecuting attorneys expedite the judicial process in light of the defendant’s condition. (A2015-0629)