Opinion ID: 3069416
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Diligent Assertion of Right

Text: This last factor is “whether, in due course, the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial.” Doggett, 505 U.S. at 651. We consider Divers’ motion to quash his indictment an assertion of his speedy trial right. See United States v. Cardona, 302 F.3d 494, 499 (5th Cir. 2002). Simply asserting this right, though, “does not automatically cause this factor to weigh in a defendant’s favor,” as a “defendant who waits too long to assert his right will have his silence weighed against him.” Molina-Solorio, 577 F.3d at 306. Waiting fourteen months until asserting the right to a speedy trial has caused us to count this factor against a defendant. United States v. Parker, 505 F.3d 323, 330 (5th Cir. 2007). The fact that Divers delayed his objection for 17 months after remand until April 24, 1998, significantly impairs his claim. He also requested several continuances before filing the motion to quash. State v. Divers, 889 So. 2d at 356. The state court concluded that, at least as to the prescriptive period under Louisiana law, counsel for Divers affirmatively waived any objection. Id. at 357.2 This conclusion is sound.