Well, the long drawn out trial wasn't really the writer's fault. Cary Bates was about to wrap up the storyline when word came down that Barry Allen was on the death list for Crisis on Infinite Earths, so rather than come up with a new story arc after that he figured he'd let the title out out on the high point of Barry being acquitted and going off to (ostensibly) live happily-ever-after with Iris in the 30th Century. So the trial had to be stretched until Crisis was ready to go.