8.11.4 Reason for Delay

• Library: Criminal Procedure in Practice (ABA) (2018 Ed.)

8.11.4 Reason for Delay

The second factor in the speedy trial analysis is the reason offered for the delay. Sometimes the trial is delayed for a considerable period as a result of interlocutory appeals from pretrial decisions. A lengthy appellate process may delay a trial for years. In one well-known case, although a ninety-month delay was presumptively prejudicial to the defendant, the Court found no violation of the defendant's right to a speedy trial. Here an interlocutory appeal was deemed to be "ordinarily . . . a valid reason that justifies delay."¹²⁶...