You May Wait a Long Time for Your “Speedy Trial”

It is a sad fact of our criminal justice system that the wheels of justice often turn very slowly. If you’ve been charged with a crime and you desperately want to clear your name and move forward with your life, every day, week, and month that goes by before your trial can seem like an eternity.

“Speedy” is a Relative Term

Under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, § 10 of the Texas Constitution, all criminal defendants have the right to a “speedy trial.” Article 1.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure was enacted to implement those constitutional rights. If the state takes too long to bring a criminal prosecution to trial, the defendant can assert a violation of those rights and ask that the case be dismissed.

In determining whether a defendant’s right to a speedy trial has been violated, a court weighs four factors:

whether delay before trial was uncommonly long
whether the government or the criminal defendant is more to blame for that delay
whether, in due course, the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial
whether the defendant suffered prejudice as a result of the delay

The problem is that what we may think of as an ”uncommonly long” delay is likely pretty common and won’t be long enough to constitute a violation of the right to a “speedy” trial. Notwithstanding the efforts of both you and your criminal defense attorney, your case still may be delayed and take a long (but constitutionally permissible) time to get to trial.

Four Common Reasons for Delays

Trials and hearings can be delayed for a variety of reasons. The following are some of the most common.

The Prosecution Needs More Time to Prepare. Prosecutors handle a huge number of cases at any given time and sometimes they simply cannot keep up with all of them. If your case is particularly complex, there’s generally a greater chance that the prosecutor will require more time to prepare. Of course, the same can be said for criminal defense attorneys. Although it can be frustrating to wait, you want your lawyer to leave no stone unturned, which includes having time to gather all available evidence in your defense.
Overbooked Court Schedule. Just like prosecutors, the courts have full caseloads and there are simply not enough hours in the day or days in the month for all of them to be handled as quickly as would be desired. Just like airlines often overbook flights expecting some folks to cancel or miss their flight, courts schedule multiple trials on the same day, anticipating that one or more defendants will accept a plea, removing the need for a full trial. Problems arise when this fails to happen and two trials are scheduled on the same day. In these situations, at least one trial will get bumped.
Busy Attorneys’ Schedules. Just as courts have overloaded calendars, attorneys on both sides may have busy schedules. Getting everyone on the same page (literally) is sometimes challenging.
Witness Unavailability. In criminal trials, the defense often depends on witness testimony. Witnesses are human beings, and they are subject to the same emergencies, accidents, and last-minute scheduling conflicts as everyone else. If a witness supporting your defense is unavailable, it’s probably in your best interest to file a motion for a continuance.

Mark Diaz – Experienced Houston/Galveston Criminal Defense Lawyer

When you have been charged with a crime, you need an experienced lawyer who focuses exclusively on defending criminal cases and who will aggressively protect your rights. Throughout my career, I have successfully handled every type of criminal defense case there is. More importantly, criminal defense is the only thing I do. I have witnessed firsthand how a criminal charge can negatively impact every area of a person’s life. As a lawyer, I consider it a privilege to help people during this stressful time in their lives. Call me today at (409) 515-6170 for a free consultation to discuss your case.