Opinion ID: 2224514
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Speedy Trial Act

Text: Defendant's demand for a jury trial cited to section 103-5(b) of the Speedy Trial Act rather than to the intrastate detainers statute, section 3-8-10 of the Unified Code of Corrections. The Speedy Trial Act and the intrastate detainers statute provide different time periods and demand requirements for differently situated defendants. Subsection (a) of the Speedy Trial Act provides, in pertinent part: Every person in custody in this State for an alleged offense shall be tried by the court having jurisdiction within 120 days from the date he was taken into custody unless delay is occasioned by the defendant. (Emphasis added.) (Ill.Rev.Stat. 1991, ch. 38, par. 103-5(a).) Under this subsection, the State is obligated to bring the charge to trial within 120 days, without a demand for a speedy trial. (See People v. Garrett (1990), 136 Ill.2d 318, 144 Ill.Dec. 234, 555 N.E.2d 353.) Unlike defendants who are released on bail, defendants who remain in custody before trial suffer the loss of their liberty before they are adjudicated guilty of a crime. Therefore, the legislature put the burden on the State to try the case within the time specified; the defendant has no burden to invoke the right to a speedy trial. In contrast, subsection (b) of the Speedy Trial Act provides: Every person on bail or recognizance shall be tried by the court having jurisdiction within 160 days from the date defendant demands trial unless delay is occasioned by defendant. (Emphasis added.) Ill.Rev.Stat.1991, ch. 38, par. 103-5(b). A defendant who is subject to this subsection retains his or her liberty during the interval between arrest and conviction; accordingly, the State is given a longer time in which to try the charges than would be available if the defendant were in custody awaiting trial. To invoke the 160-day period of this subsection, defendants who are on bail or recognizance must serve the State with a formal demand.