Opinion ID: 1693450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Affirmative Demand of Defendant

Text: It must be recognized that in each of these circumstances  appeal by the state, appeal by the defendant, and retrial for the defendant  the sixty-day demand provision in rule 3.191(a)(2) is never terminated and remains an option always available to a defendant who can affirmatively state he is ready for trial after the appellate court enters its mandate or the trial court directs a new trial. It not only guarantees a defendant an opportunity for an expeditious trial date, but also avoids the necessity for a court determination of reasonableness when this standard is to be applied for speedy trial purposes. Further, when no specific time period is prescribed by order or rule and the constitutional reasonableness test is applicable, a defendant seeking a discharge on the grounds the state has failed to bring him to trial within a reasonable time must realize that his failure to use this rule provision is a factor which the trial court may take into consideration in determining the unreasonableness of any delay. See Butterworth v. Fluellen, 389 So.2d 968, No. 57,385 (Fla. July 24, 1980).