Did the Prosecution Violate Your Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy Trial?
Our office frequently receives calls about someone who was arrested, but never told to go to court. In releasing the person, police may have advised the person that a notice would be mailed telling them of a court date, but the notice never arrived. Other times, there is an incident and the person is not even arrested.
The person then learns that a criminal case was filed against them, there was an arraignment that they missed (because they never received notice to appear) and a bench warrant was issued for their arrest. This new knowledge comes often more than a year or more after the arrest.
The person understands the concept of a statute of limitations and the right to a speedy trial, so he or she wants to know how to proceed.
This scenario is regrettable, especially if the Client is informed of the warrant or the criminal case while applying for a job or during the course of an employer’s periodic background checks.
The immediate issue is certainly whether the prosecution filed the case within the applicable statute of limitations for the alleged offense. Surprisingly, our office has seen more than one prosecutor’s office file a lawsuit after the stature of limitations has passed, which is one year for almost every misdemeanor.
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a person accused of a crime the right to a speedy trial. Under Article I,
