Talk to a Lawyer. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. The Right to a Speedy Trial. If the government doesn't get a defendant to trial within a certain amount of time, the court must toss the charges.
Reasons for the Right to a Speedy Trial Among the justifications for the right to a speedy trial are: avoiding lengthy unfounded imprisonment minimizing the anxiety of awaiting case resolution, and protecting the defendant's ability to defend against charges for example, evidence may disappear and witnesses' memories may fade over time.
Speedy Trial: Timing and Deadlines The term "speedy" is relative in the legal context. Factors Courts Consider in a Speedy-Trial Analysis Courts undertake a speedy-trial analysis that differs depending on the law that's at hand. Therefore, when a defendant claims a violation, the court applies a "balancing test," assessing: the length of the delay the reason for it whether the defendant asserted the speedy-trial right, and whether the wait compromised the defense.
Triggering the Speedy-Trial Clock Usually, the time between filing of charges through, for example, a complaint or an indictment and the suspect's arrest counts against the time the government has to get the case to trial. A Right to Speedy Sentencing? Consequences for a Violation If a convicted defendant can establish a violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial, the court must set aside the conviction, vacate the sentence, and dismiss the charging document.
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Expungement and Criminal Records. Should I just plead guilty and avoid a trial? Is the public defender a real lawyer? Can I change defense lawyers after I've hired one? How long after arrest do I find out what the charges are? As Idaho lawyer Edward Dindinger said, "The Idaho Supreme Court's orders suspending jury trials have kept criminal defendants from resolving their cases and moving on with their lives, as well as indefinitely delayed civil relief to those Idahoans who have been injured by others.
It is hard to imagine a greater prejudice to one of our most fundamental constitutional rights. Said differently, there are people who have been charged with a crime, awaiting a trial that will not come well into There are also Idahoans awaiting the resolution of civil cases that have also been left on hold.
Courts are still functioning with respect to non-jury trial proceedings, predominantly using video communications such as Zoom and Webex, doing so with reduced in-person staff. Civil cases numbers have stayed fairly flat during this time period. That increase comes despite courts increasingly pushing for and obtaining resolution for criminal cases using mediation in place of the jury trial process.
It also comes despite parties being pressured to settle civil cases they would likely not settle if jury trials were available. Additionally, to try and keep jails from getting overcrowded, courts are allowing non-violent suspects to be released without bond. The individual circumstances of a case often determine how quickly it can be ready to go to trial, and a violation of the requirement of a speedy trial will often be determined on a case-by-case basis. That said, individual states have passed statutes that define a speedy trial for their jurisdictions.
The right to a speedy trial has multiple purposes designed to protect the rights of the defendant:. When a constitutional speedy trial violation is found, courts are to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means the prosecutors are not allowed to refile the charges. Proving that there has been a legitimate speedy trial violation can be complicated. The case will have to carefully document when the speedy trial deadline was established, how it was violated, and that the prosecution does not have a valid exception to the speedy trial requirement.
Proving this can require careful examination of court documents and the presentation of evidence that the prosecution did not act with due diligence to acquire evidence as quickly as possible.
The right to a speedy trial is a foundational protection to ensure that those accused of crimes are able to get a fair and just trial and move on with their lives — whether or not they are found guilty. If you have been charged with a crime in Colorado Springs, contact us today to discuss your case. What does the law say about the right to a speedy trial? There are a few exceptions to this requirement: Mistrials Defendant is unable to appear on the date of trial Defense needs more time to prepare and gather witnesses and evidence Prosecutors needing more time for evidence collection after due diligence is practiced A trial may be delayed beyond the six-month window if one of these conditions is met.
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