34-e-1 The Sixth Amendment: Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial

• Library: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

34-E-1. The Sixth Amendment: Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial

Your right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and applies to trials in both federal and state courts.¹²⁴ You have a right to a speedy trial even if you are released on bail before trial.¹²⁵ Note, however, that this right does not apply until you have been formally charged or are arrested.¹²⁶ The remedy for the violation of the right to a speedy trial is the dismissal of the indictment.¹²⁷ as federal actions).

The courts have not defined a specific number of days after which your federal constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated. Instead, the Supreme Court has created a balancing test for courts to use in speedy trial cases. The four factors to be considered in determining whether there has been a violation of your constitutional rights are: "[l]ength of delay, the reason for the delay, the defendant's assertion of his right, and prejudice to the defendant."¹²⁸ However, a court does not always have to consider each of these factors. Unless there is some delay that is "presumptively prejudicial"-that is, a delay that can be assumed to have damaged your case-the three factors other than prejudice to your case do not need to be considered.¹²⁹ Furthermore, the length of delay that will trigger an application of all four factors (that will be presumptively prejudicial) will depend on the particular...