The Speedy Trial Clause of the

Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Sixth Amendment (Amendment VI) to the United States Constitution sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the United States Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court has applied the protections of this ...

provides, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial...". The Clause protects the defendant from delay between the presentation of the indictment or similar charging instrument and the beginning of trial.

History

In '' Barker v. Wingo'' (1972), the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

developed a four-part test that considers the length of the delay, the reasons for the delay, the defendant's assertion of his right to a speedy trial, and the prejudice to the defendant. A violation of the Speedy Trial Clause is cause for dismissal

with prejudice Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...

of a criminal case. Within these parameters, it was determined that the five-year wait for this case to go trial was not in violation of the Constitution. In response, in 1974, Congress passed the

Speedy Trial Act The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 2080, as amended August 2, 1979, 93 Stat. 328, ), establishes time limits for completing the various stages of a federal criminal prosecution. Procedural time limits The Act establishes time limits for complet ...

. This Speedy trial clause protects defendants from waiting more than a certain amount of time for a trial.

Speedy trial statutes

In addition to the constitutional guarantee, various state and federal statutes confer a more specific right to a speedy trial. In New York, the prosecution must be "ready for trial" within six months on all felonies except

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

, or the charges are dismissed by action of law without regard to the merits of the case. This is also known as a "ready rule". In California courts, defendants have a right to a trial within 100 days to a year. The federal law detailing this right is the

of 1974. All U.S. states have either statutes or constitutional provisions detailing this right. In 1979 the Act was amended to ensure that the defendant had time to provide a suitable defense. This amendment made it so trial could not start within less than 30 days after the defendant first appeared in the court.

Speedy trial cases

In ''

Doggett v. United States ''Doggett v. United States'', 505 U.S. 647 (1992), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The court held that the year delay between Doggett's indictment and actual arrest violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy tr ...

'' (1992) the Supreme Court determined that Doggett's eight and a half year wait for a trial violated his sixth amendment rights. In ''

Zedner v. United States ''Zedner v. United States'', 547 U.S. 489 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the right to a speedy trial. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for a unanimous Court, ruled that a defendant cannot prospectively waive the protections ...

'' (2006) the Supreme Court determined that a defendant cannot waive his right to a speedy trial using the Speedy Trial Clause because the clause protects all parties involved in a case to ensure that no one's interests are being implicated.

History

Speedy trial statutes

Speedy trial cases

See also

References

Further reading