Chapter 3 - § 3.1 • DISMISSAL BASED ON THE STATUTORY RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 3.1 • DISMISSAL BASED ON THE STATUTORY RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL

§ 3.1.1—Summary of the Statutory Right to a Speedy Trial

"Both the public's interest in the effective enforcement of criminal laws and the liberty interest of the accused are forwarded by Colorado's speedy trial statute. Thus, the prosecution and the defendant have standing to compel enforcement of speedy trial requirements." People v. Arledge, 938 P.2d 160, 166 (Colo. 1997). Thus, speedy trial is not a one-dimensional, defendant-centered substantive rule. Courts must consider the public interest and the defendant's interests in ruling on speedy trial issues. See People ex rel. Gallagher v. District Court, 933 P.2d 583, 592 (Colo. 1997), in which the prosecution challenged the court's trial date setting as beyond the speedy trial period, and the supreme court held "that the trial court must accede to the prosecution's request for a speedy trial date."

In 1993, the Colorado Supreme Court noted that although the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled directly on the matter, it is generally accepted in the lower federal courts that a criminal defendant's right to a speedy trial under the U.S. Constitution extends through the sentencing phase of a criminal prosecution. Moody v. Corsentino, 843 P.2d 1355 (Colo. 1993). That ruling has now been abrogated. In Betterman v. Montana, 136 S. Ct. 1609 (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court specifically held that the Sixth Amendment's speedy trial guarantee protects the accused from arrest or indictment through trial, but does not apply once a defendant has been found guilty at trial or has pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

A defendant has the right to a speedy trial both on a constitutional basis and a statutory basis. A defendant has a statutory right to be brought to trial within six months of the day on which a not guilty plea is entered in the case. C.R.S. § 18-1-405; Crim. P. 48. A failure to bring the defendant to trial within the required time period requires the court to dismiss the charges against the defendant. A dismissal on statutory speedy trial grounds bars the re-filing of charges. People v. Martin, 732 P.2d 1210 (Colo. 1987).

The speedy trial statute and Crim. P. 48 are substantively identical, and have been interpreted as being co-extensive. People v. Deason, 670 P.2d 792 (Colo. 1983). C.R.S. § 18-1-405(1) sets forth the basic rule as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a defendant is not brought to trial on the issues raised by

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