Opinion ID: 2046882
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Release Prior to Trial

Text: Defendants were charged by information on November 27, 1974, and tried on June 17, 1975. During this period both defendants were held in jail pending trial. On May 5, 1975, a request for speedy trial was filed on behalf of the defendants, and on May 27, 1975, a motion to be released on their own recognizance was filed. The trial court denied the motion for release on their own recognizance. It is the position of the defendants that Ind.R.Crim.P. 4(A) required their release, and the failure, upon the part of the trial judge to do so, requires the reversal of their convictions and the discharge of the charges against them. They contend that anything less will eviscerate the rule. Criminal Rule 4(A) reads as follows:  (A) Defendant in jail. No defendant shall be detained in jail on a charge, without a trial, for a period in aggregate embracing more than six (6) months from the date the criminal charge against such defendant is filed, or from the date of his arrest on such charge (whichever is later); except where a continuance was had on his motion, or the delay was caused by his act, or where there was not sufficient time to try him during such period because of congestion of the court calendar; provided, however, that in the last-mentioned circumstance, the prosecuting attorney shall make such statement in a motion for continuance not later than ten (10) days prior to the date set for trial, or if such motion is filed less than ten (10) days prior to trial, the prosecuting attorney shall show additionally that the delay in filing the motion was not the fault of the prosecutor. Any defendant so detained shall be released on his own recognizance at the conclusion of the six-month period aforesaid and may be held to answer a criminal charge against him within the limitations provided for in subsection (C) of this rule. In Lewis v. State, (1976) Ind., 342 N.E.2d 859, a similar problem was addressed by this Court. Lewis was tried six and one-half months after he was originally charged. Justice Prentice wrote for a unanimous Court: The relief to which the defendant believes himself entitled under this assignment is not clear. At most, however, he would have been entitled to be released upon his own recognizance and not to a discharge. Assuming that the trial was delayed more than six months beyond the critical date as fixed by Ind.R.Crim.P. 4(A), the State was, nevertheless, authorized to bring him to trial, and this assignment raises no question for review in these proceedings. Lewis v. State, supra, at 861. The language of the rule requires release after the six-month period. It does not preclude prosecution unless the one-year limitation of Ind.R.Crim.P. 4(C) is not met. The rule does not mandate nor does justice require a different result.