Opinion ID: 1841912
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Price was denied his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

Text: ¶ 8. Price argues that the trial court denied his fundamental right to a speedy trial as guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The right to a speedy trial as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, is a fundamental right, and is applicable to the states via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213, 223, 87 S.Ct. 988, 993, 18 L.Ed.2d 1 (1967). We also note that Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 provides defendants in criminal cases with a right to a speedy trial. Mississippi has also codified speedy trial guarantees to further protect the rights of defendants. See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-17-1 (Supp.2000). Price only asserts a speedy trial violation under his Sixth Amendment rights. Therefore, this Court need not analyze this alleged violation under the Mississippi Constitution or statute. [1] ¶ 9. Review of a speedy trial claim encompasses the fact question of whether the trial delay rose from good cause. DeLoach v. State, 722 So.2d 512, 516 (Miss.1998); Mims v. State, 856 So.2d 518, 520 (Miss.Ct.App.2003). Under this Court's standard of review, this Court will uphold a decision based on substantial, credible evidence. Folk v. State, 576 So.2d 1243, 1247 (Miss.1991). If no probative evidence supports the trial court's findings of good cause, this Court will ordinarily reverse. DeLoach, 722 So.2d at 516. The State bears the burden of proving good cause for a speedy trial delay, and thus bears the risk of non-persuasion. Id. The right to a speedy trial attaches at the time of the accused's arrest, indictment, or information. Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 408 (Miss.1989). ¶ 10. The United States Supreme Court in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), created a four-pronged balancing test to determine whether a defendant has been deprived of his right to a speedy trial in violation of the Constitution. The four prongs are (i) length of delay, (ii) the reason for the delay, (iii) the defendant's assertion of his right, and (iv) prejudice to the defendant. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182. We have adopted and applied the Barker factors on numerous occasions. State v. Woodall, 801 So.2d 678, 680-81 (Miss.2001); Perry v. State, 637 So.2d 871, 874 (Miss.1994); Flores v. State, 574 So.2d 1314, 1321 (Miss.1990); Lightsey v. State, 493 So.2d 375, 378 (Miss.1986). Any delay of over eight months is presumptively prejudicial and triggers balancing of the other three factors. State v. Ferguson, 576 So.2d 1252, 1254 (Miss.1991). Once the delay is found presumptively prejudicial, the burden shifts to the prosecution to produce evidence justifying the delay and to persuade the trier of fact of the legitimacy of these reasons. Id. ¶ 11. If this Court finds a constitutional speedy trial violation, the sole remedy is to reverse the trial court's decision and dismiss the charges. DeLoach, 722 So.2d at 516. No mathematical formula exists to which the Barker weighing and balancing process must be performed. Beavers v. State, 498 So.2d 788, 790 (Miss.1986). The weight to be given each factor necessarily turns on the quality of evidence available on each and, in the absence of evidence, identification of the party with the risk of non-persuasion. Beavers, 498 So.2d at 790. In the end, no one factor is dispositive. Id. The totality of the circumstances must be considered. Id. We now proceed to examine each factor.