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BGonline.org Forums
Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy Trial
Posted By: Marv Porten In Response To: Rod Covlin the latest per DailyBeast (TarHeelFan)
Date: Tuesday, 15 January 2019, at 3:19 a.m.
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial. A defendant can waive that right; the prosecution can request more time to prepare its case. For example, if the defendant hopes that a witness will die or have an impaired memory, delays might be in the defendant's best interest. If the defendant's attorneys need a lot of time to prepare for trial (e.g., hundreds of potential witnesses need to be located and interviewed; or millions of documents need to be reviewed) the defense might seek numerous delays. The prosecution might ask for a continuance if new evidence needs to be tested, or if a key witness has a medical emergency. There's no specific time period set forth in the Sixth Amendment for when a trial must start after an arrest, and New York's speedy trial statute excludes murder cases. So how long is too long? How much time must pass before a murder defendant is deprived of the right to a speedy trial? The courts look at several factors when deciding if the charges must be dismissed because the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights were violated, for example: Was the defendant responsible for any of the delay? Has the delay prejudiced the defendant's ability to present a defense? Did the prosecution have a reasonable basis for delaying the trial? etc., etc. If the defendant's attorneys in the Covlin case believe that the Sixth Amendment has been violated, they can make a motion to have the charges dismissed. If they don't make that motion, but should have, then another legal principle comes into play: ineffective assistance of counsel.
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