Opinion ID: 200079
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Right to a Speedy Trial.

Text: 16 The Sixth Amendment provides that [i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.... U.S. Const. amend. VI. Barker is the seminal Supreme Court case interpreting this directive. It delineates a quadripartite balancing test for use in evaluating potential speedy trial violations. See Barker, 407 U.S. at 530-33. The first prong involves the length of the delay between arrest or indictment, on the one hand, and the date of trial, on the other hand. See United States v. Loud Hawk, 474 U.S. 302, 310, 313-14, 106 S.Ct. 648, 88 L.Ed.2d 640 (1986). The case law indicates that short periods of delay — say, appreciably less than one year — ordinarily are insufficient to justify further inquiry. See Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 652 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 2686, 120 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992). Delays that exceed this floor generally require additional investigation. See id. As the length of the delay increases, its relative importance also increases. See id. at 652; United States v. Trueber, 238 F.3d 79, 87 (1st Cir.2001). 17 The reasons for the delay comprise the second factor in the calculus of decision. See Barker, 407 U.S. at 531. This element seeks to ensure that courts not concentrate on the sheer passage of time without also taking account of the etiology of the delay. The inquiry into causation involves a sliding scale: deliberately dilatory tactics must be weighed more heavily against the state than periods of delay resulting from negligence. Id. By like token, to the extent that valid reasons cause delay, the delay does not count against the state at all. Id. So too delay that is caused by the defendant. See Davis v. Puckett, 857 F.2d 1035, 1040-41 (5th Cir.1988). 18 The third prong of the Barker framework addresses the timeliness and frequency of the defendant's assertions of his speedy trial right. See Barker, 407 U.S. at 529 (instructing courts to weigh the frequency and force of the objections as opposed to attaching significant weight to a purely pro forma objection). Although a defendant does not waive his constitutional right to a speedy trial by failing to assert it at a time when the state could have nipped the violation in the bud, his failure to do so means that he must make a much stronger showing on the other factors in order to succeed in his claim. See id. at 532. 19 The fourth, and final, Barker factor implicates the extent to which the defendant was prejudiced by the delay attributable to the state. Id. In dealing with this factor, an inquiring court should keep in mind that the speedy trial right is intended to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration, minimize the accused's anxiety, and limit the possibility that the passage of time will impair the accused's ability to mount a defense. Id. The latter concern is the most serious one. Id. 20 As a general rule, the defendant bears the burden of alleging and proving specific ways in which the delay attributable to the sovereign unfairly compromised his ability to defend himself. See United States v. Aguirre, 994 F.2d 1454, 1455 (9th Cir.1993). In aggravated cases, involving grossly excessive delay, prejudice may be presumed despite the defendant's inability to identify particular testimony or evidence that has become unavailable due to the passage of time. Doggett, 505 U.S. at 655-56.