What is "Speedy Trial" in Florida?
Posted on Dec 20, 2012 11:55am PST
When a person is arrested or charged with a crime, the law requires that
the person is given a trial within a reasonable period of time. This is
known as the right to a speedy trial. This is a fundamental constitutional
right that is codified in Florida law. If not for this important right,
the government could arrest or charge someone on flimsy facts, but still
hold the person in jail while indefinitely delaying the requirement of
proving the charge beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. The effect would
be to allow the government to leave charged individuals to languish, while
the government is under no time constraint to act.
In Florida, a person charged with a misdemeanor has a right to a speedy
trial within 90 days of arrest. For a felony arrest, the law has set 175
days as a reasonable time for affording a speedy trial.
If a person is not brought to trial within the required time, the person
may notify the court that the speedy trial time has expired. The court
will have a hearing to determine if speedy trial has in fact expired There
are many circumstances that may cause the court to find that no speedy
trial violation exists. Some include a waiver of speedy trial by the defense
due to not being prepared for trial, failing to appear or otherwise being
unavailable. The courts, through case law, have defined many issues relating
to speedy trial, such as when speedy trial begins to run, what may cause
it to be waived, when the government may ask for an extension, and many
others. If the court finds that speedy trial has expired, it must set
the case for trial within ten days (15 days if no hearing is conducted
after the defendant’s filing of the notice of expiration of speedy
trial). The failure of the government to have a trial within the “recapture
period” of 10-15 days will cause the court to discharge the case,
upon request of the defendant.
There are no rights, laws or rules that are absolute. In order to properly
ensure that your rights are being utilized to afford you a fair and speedy
disposition of your case, you will need an attorney. If you are accused
of a crime, contact the Orlando criminal attorneys at Longwell Lawyers
for a free consultation.