Opinion ID: 891580
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Purpose of the Speedy Trial Right

Text: {10} The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right of the accused. Barker, 407 U.S. at 515, 92 S.Ct. 2182. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213, 222-23, 87 S.Ct. 988, 18 L.Ed.2d 1 (1967), provides: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. U.S. Const. amend. VI; see also N.M. Const. art. II, § 14. [1] {11} The speedy trial right, however, escapes precise definition. The speedy-trial right is `amorphous,' `slippery,' and `necessarily relative.' Vermont v. Brillon, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1283, 1290, 173 L.Ed.2d 231 (2009) (citation omitted). It is consistent with delays and depends upon circumstances. It secures rights to a defendant. It does not preclude the rights of public justice. Barker, 407 U.S. at 522, 92 S.Ct. 2182 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Though speed is an important attribute of the right, [i]f either party is forced to trial without a fair opportunity for preparation, justice is sacrificed to speed. Frankel v. Woodrough, 7 F.2d 796, 798 (8th Cir.1925). As the United States Supreme Court stated in Barker, It is ... impossible to determine with precision when the right has been denied. We cannot definitely say how long is too long in a system where justice is supposed to be swift but deliberate. Barker, 407 U.S. at 521, 92 S.Ct. 2182. Therefore, the substance of the speedy trial right is defined only through an analysis of the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case. {12} Barker recognized that the right to a speedy trial is generically different from any of the other rights enshrined in the Constitution for the protection of the accused, because there is a societal interest in bringing an accused to trial. Id. at 519, 92 S.Ct. 2182. However, [t]he Bill of Rights... does not speak of the rights and interests of the government. Richard Uviller, Barker v. Wingo: Speedy Trial Gets a Fast Shuffle, 72 Colum. L.Rev. 1376, 1378 (1972); see 5 Wayne R. LaFave et al., Criminal Procedure § 18.1(b) (3d ed. 2007) ([I]t is rather misleading to say ... that this `societal interest' is somehow part of the right.). The heart of the right to a speedy trial is preventing prejudice to the accused. [T]his constitutional guarantee has universally been thought essential to protect at least three basic demands of criminal justice in the Anglo-American legal system: (1) to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial, (2) to minimize anxiety and concern accompanying public accusation and (3) to limit the possibilities that long delay will impair the ability of an accused to defend himself. Smith v. Hooey, 393 U.S. 374, 377-78, 89 S.Ct. 575, 21 L.Ed.2d 607 (1969) (footnote, internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Therefore, the speedy trial right requires actual and articulable deprivation of a defendant's constitutional right. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182. {13} Violation of the speedy trial right is only determined through a review of the circumstances of a case, which may not be divorced from a consideration of the State and the defendant's conduct and the harm to the defendant from the delay. Id. Accordingly, we have adopted the balancing test created by the United States Supreme Court in Barker, which delineates the following analytical framework for evaluating a claimed speedy trial violation: In Barker, the United States Supreme Court created a balancing test, in which the conduct of both the prosecution and the defendant are weighed. The Court identified four factors: (1) the length of delay, (2) the reasons for the delay, (3) the defendant's assertion of his right, and (4) the actual prejudice to the defendant that, on balance, determines whether a defendant's right to a speedy trial has been violated. State v. Maddox, 2008-NMSC-062, ¶ 7, 145 N.M. 242, 195 P.3d 1254 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Barker's formulation necessarily compels courts to approach speedy trial cases on an ad hoc basis. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182. This analysis specifically rejects inflexible, bright-line approaches to analyzing a speedy trial claim. Id. at 529-30, 92 S.Ct. 2182. {14} In adopting the Barker analysis, this Court has similarly rejected bright-line analyses of the right to a speedy trial. Barker, however, was far from the model of clarity and has not provided a comprehensive analysis of this slippery right. Consequently, our courts have endeavored to adapt the Barker analysis to the unique factual circumstances presented in each case. In the present case, we revisit certain aspects of the speedy trial right in light of Barker's extensive progeny with a focus on the underlying purpose of Barker, to provide a functional analysis of the right to a speedy trial.