By Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyer Jeremy Rosenthal
(972) 369-0577
Being accused of a crime sucks.
The framer’s of the constitution knew this which is why the U.S. Constitution guarantees our right to a speedy trial in the Sixth Amendment. Texas also guarantees the right to a speedy trial in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure section 1.05.
If the State violates your right to a speedy trial — the Judge can dismiss the case. Your right to a speedy trial exists on any case whether it be DWI, drugs, marijuana possession, assault, theft or other serious felonies.
Speedy trial law can be extremely complicated believe it or not. I’ll avoid they hyper-technical legalese for the sake of easy reading but you should understand in this area there are no real bright-line rules that will get a case dismissed. Rather, a denial of a right to speedy trial is viewed by the judge and the Court of Appeals on a sliding scale which give the trial judge mountains of discretion.
The seminal U.S. Supreme Court case which still serves as the corner-stone for speedy trial law is Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1971). In that case, the Supreme Court laid out four general factors as part of the court’s analysis of whether denial of the right to a speedy trial was violated. Those factors include (but aren’t limited to), (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) defendant’s assertion of their right to a speedy trial; and (4) the prejudice to the defendant.
Speedy trial issues usually arise in cases where the judge or the prosecution have continually put a case off for whatever reason — usually either witness problems or a jammed docket. Sometimes they arise where the police made an arrest and the case simply doesn’t get prosecuted over a long period of time for whatever reason (maybe the police lost the police report or some prosecutor dropped the ball).
A speedy trial issue is usually not the first-line of defense in a criminal case. In cases where there the case just never seems ready to go to trial, a good criminal defense lawyer will know how to build a steady record showing the defendant has continually been prepared to try the case and that they have been active in asserting their demand for speedy trial. This will help maximize your chance for a dismissal based on speedy trial violations.
*Jeremy Rosenthal is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas. Nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice. For legal advice about your own specific case you should consult an attorney.
I was arrested here in Texas December 26, 2010 for dwi second.
DwI was enhanced to felony in September of 2011.
I insisted on trial … i sttod up in court at docket call last month (Feb. 21, 2012) and anounced ready for trial your honor … my case was put on docket for trial … that day we proved i did not have a second prior dwi … now my case is pending because State wants to re-file the dwi as a misdemeanor. Then i have to buy a third bond for same arrest. I have been prejudiced by the felony dwi judge ordering me to report to pre-trial services here in Texas 2 times per week…. i have never had a drug arrest … never had a dirty ua. My 9 year old son lives in Sioux Falls SD … That is where my residence is … judge will not let me go home due to being forced twice per week here in Texas … what happened to speedy trial … the State was wrong about enhancement and delayed my trial and prevented me from gling back to Sioux Falls to my family.
Please contact my office at (972) 369-0577.
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