{"id":395,"date":"2021-08-09T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T15:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/?p=395"},"modified":"2021-08-18T11:20:22","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T18:20:22","slug":"what-is-the-right-to-a-speedy-trial-under-the-6th-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/what-is-the-right-to-a-speedy-trial-under-the-6th-amendment\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Right to a Speedy Trial Under the 6th Amendment?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Speedy-Trial.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-396\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Speedy-Trial.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Speedy-Trial-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Speedy-Trial-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have been accused of any crime, it\u2019s important to\nhave a grasp of the Sixth Amendment, which grants you the right to a speedy\ntrial. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that citizens do not spend an\nunreasonable amount of time waiting for the chance to defend themselves and\nresolve their case in court. If you have been arrested or indicted, you have\nthe right to a speedy trial. There is no set-in stone timeline that has to me\nfollowed when scheduling a trial. Instead, our courts rely on four factors\nestablished in the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1971\/71-5255\">Barker\nv. Wingo<\/a> to decide whether a trial has been unlawfully delayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Speedy Trial Factors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nThe Length of The Delay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Criminal offenses have a widespread level of severity and\nconsequences, so the amount of time allotted before a trial is directly\nimpacted by the nature of the crime itself. Generally, delays for minor crimes\nare considered to be less acceptable than delays for serious crimes that may lead\nto more complex cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nThe Reason for the Delay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are three main reasons why a court case may be\ndelayed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Weaken a defense against the government<\/li><li>Overscheduled courts<\/li><li>Unavailable witnesses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Naturally, delaying a court date when witnesses are\nunavailable is generally considered reasonable. The prior two reasons could\npotentially be worth investigating by the court as a violation of the right to a\nspeedy trial, however. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nThe Defendant\u2019s Assertion of His\/Her Right<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to have success proving an individual\u2019s Sixth\nAmendment rights were violated, they must first assert their right to a speedy\ntrial.&nbsp; The failure to announce your\nright early in the process will make it more difficult to prove that the right\nwas violated down the line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nThe Degree of Prejudice Toward the Defendant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Barker v. Wingo outlines three types of prejudice a\ndefendant can suffer after a criminal accusation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pretrial anxiety<\/li><li>Unlawful pretrial incarceration<\/li><li>Impairment of one\u2019s defense<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Of these three factors, the impairment of one\u2019s defense is\nmost heavily considered in court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ensure Your Right to a Speedy Trial is Honored with Elizabeth Anu Lawrence\nLaw<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\n\n\n\nConvictions of any kind can damage your future\nreputation, financial security, employment or housing opportunities, and rights\nas a citizen; having strong legal defense can help you in dismissing your\ncharges, exploring your best options, or representing you in court.&nbsp; The Law Office of Elizabeth A. Lawrence\noffers high-quality legal representation, personal attention, and\nprofessionalism to help defend those who need it most.&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/contact-us.php\">Click here<\/a> or call (410)\n986-0088 to consult with an experienced attorney today.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the right to a speedy trial, and which factors are used to determine whether the right has been violated?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":397,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions\/397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}