Opinion ID: 1482624
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Assertion of Defendant's Right to Speedy Trial

Text: The trial justice held that notwithstanding the lengthy delay and the state's failure to give a valid explanation for such delay, he was not satisfied that there had been a sufficient showing of defendant's assertion of his right and prejudice to him by his failure to secure a speedy trial. We consider first the assertion factor. The detainer was lodged with the federal authorities on September 4, 1973. This resulted in defendant's communication by mail with a justice of the Superior Court. That communication caused the Attorney General's Department to seek an indictment and, on July 15, 1974, after the indictment was returned, defendant filed the instant motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. The trial justice was not satisfied that defendant's assertion was adequate. On the view we take of this appeal, it is not necessary to discuss this factor at any great length. As we pointed out in State v. King, 112 R.I. 581, 586, 313 A.2d 640, 642 (1974), the defendant's failure was not fatal; the defendant's assertion of or failure to assert his right to a speedy trial is only one of the factors to be considered in an inquiry into the deprivation of the right. State v. Crapo, supra 112 R. I. at 737-38, 315 A.2d at 442; Barker v. Wingo, supra 407 U.S. at 528, 92 S.Ct. at 2191, 33 L.Ed.2d at 116. Assuming, without deciding, that the trial justice erred in finding that defendant's assertion of his right was not an adequate assertion, the question remains whether in engaging in the difficult and sensitive balancing process, Barker v. Wingo, supra at 533, 92 S. Ct. at 2193, 33 L.Ed.2d at 118, he erred in his ultimate decision denying defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. In the circumstance of this case, the answer to this question depends upon the correctness of his finding as to the factor of prejudice.