Opinion ID: 282140
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Pre-Prosecution Delay

Text: 5 Appellant claims that the bringing of the indictment 40 months after the commission of the crime violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. In a series of cases culminating in United States v. Feinberg, 383 F.2d 60 (2 Cir. 1967), this court has considered the merits of such claims and has held, consistent with the views of the Supreme Court in United States v. Ewell, 383 U.S. 116, 122, 86 S.Ct. 773, 15 L.Ed.2d 627 (1966), that the statute of limitations is the primary guarantee against the bringing of stale criminal charges. United States v. Feinberg, 383 F.2d at 64. As the prosecution in the present case was commenced well within the five year period of limitations, it is incumbent upon the accused to demonstrate that the delay has so impaired his capacity to prepare a defense as to amount to an infringement of his right to a speedy trial or a denial of due process. 6 Although appellant has attempted to meet this burden, we are convinced that he has not shown sufficient prejudice by the delay to render his prosecution invalid under the Fifth or Sixth Amendments. No witnesses were lost. Capaldo was able to give a coherent account of his version of the events on the day of the robbery; he had been interviewed concerning the crime shortly after it was committed and thus was able to fix the day in his mind. He also had the benefit of contemporaneous statements given by the tellers and was able to cross-examine them at the trial. It is usually in the public interest, and frequently to the advantage of the prospective defendant, that charges not be brought until the prosecutor has completed his investigation and feels that there is sufficient likelihood of gaining a conviction. There is no reason to suspect that the government's delay in this case was unwarranted. 7