Court Opinion

ID: 9681146
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:44:36.695938+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:39:21.107130
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, concurring. Justice Hickman’s dissenting and Justice Glaze’s concurring opinions display a failure to fully appreciate the purpose behind the speedy trial rules. These rules were not established for the benefit of criminals. They were designed for the benefit of accused persons in particular and society in general. They are most beneficial to those unfortunate innocent persons who are finally found not guilty at trial or who have had their indictments or informations dismissed after the state determines that charges should never have been filed. The rules most directly affect people who have not been convicted and may never be convicted. They also accelerate the entry into prison of those who are tried and found guilty. The societal interest in speedy trials must not be underestimated. The backlog of persons awaiting trial aggravates the already grievous problem of this nation’s overcrowded prison systems. Holding an accused in prison awaiting trial not only contributes to the expenses of overcrowding, it also exposes persons being held for trial to conditions which have “a destructive effect on human character and makes rehabilitation of the individual offender much more difficult.” Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972). Prior to the constitutional adoption of the speedy trial requirement, persons were being held without trial for months or even years. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. See also the dissenting opinion by Justice Hickman, in which Justices Hays and Glaze joined, in Asher v. State, 300 Ark. 57, 776 S.W.2d 816 (1989). The Sixth Amendment was adopted in order to end the practice of holding persons in jail without trial for long periods of time. It worked for a while, but overcrowded dockets and delaying tactics by the accused and the state soon allowed courts to resume the unjust practice for their convenience and that of the state. The courts could not or would not abide by the speedy trial rules mandated by the United States Constitution. The speedy trial rules contained in the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure were the result of legislative and societal demands. We are obligated to abide by our own rules. Time has proven that the state will not perform its function to oversee speedy trials in the absence of written rules and precedent. Unbridled discretion by the state in such matters could lead to absurdities. A person accused of a misdemeanor could be held for a year without trial, while a minor felony could result in a life sentence. Unless we observe the rules we have promulgated, jails and prisons will surely become even more overcrowded, and the taxpayer’s burden will certainly be increased — and for no good reason. Society will indeed suffer. Most importantly, incarcerated persons will be forced to endure unwarranted terms of imprisonment without benefit of trial. There are many negative side effects of holding persons accused of crimes for long periods of time without trial: The families of wage earners suffer; the public must support dependents of prisoners who are later determined to have been falsely accused; society forfeits the contributions of potentially productive citizens; taxpayers must bear the increased costs of lengthier holding time and additional prison space; and prisoners unjustly and needlessly held for so long a time suffer unmentionable harm. Finally, the very purpose of a trial — the search for truth — is defeated by undue delay. Witnesses disappear, evidence vanishes, and memory fades. The United States Supreme Court held in Kloppfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213 (1967), that the right to a speedy trial is “fundamental” and is imposed on the state by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. If we are to remain a nation of laws, it is imperative that we abide by them. Dismissal is a severe penalty for failure to bring an accused to timely trial. However, it is the only available remedy. After all, the state commenced the proceedings and has the duty and obligation to those accused and other citizens to bring the matter to trial. See Stephens v. State, 295 Ark. 541, 750 S.W.2d 52 (1988). There are valid reasons behind the speedy trial rules; i.e., the United States Constitution. The guarantees contained in the Sixth Amendment stand between the accused and what Shakespeare’s Hamlet listed as one of life’s insupportable evils — “the law’s delay.”