8.11.8 Statutory Mandates

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

8.11.8 statutory Mandates

Apart from the Sixth Amendment, federal and state legislatures have enacted speedy trial statutes that establish time limits for various criminal proceedings.

The federal Speedy Trial Act requires that in federal prosecutions, an information or indictment be filed within thirty days of arrest or service of summons. The trial then must take place within seventy days of filing of the formal charge or seventy days after the date on which the defendant appeared before a judicial officer, whichever is later.¹³⁷ Many pretrial events, however, such as the filing of pretrial motions, can suspend the running of the time limit.¹³⁸

Comment

Do not confuse the remedies available under the federal Speedy Trial Act with the dismissal available for a Sixth Amendment violation. Depending on the circumstances, the court can grant a motion to dismiss with prejudice (no retrial) or without prejudice (retrial is permitted). Defense counsel needs to seek the remedy of dismissal with prejudice, of course, and ensure that the relief requested is clear in the...