Q: we would like to talk to a civil rights attorney about our love one's right to a speedy trial being violated
He was arrested Nov. 2016, and his attorney at that time filed a motion for a speedy trial in Feb. 2017 once the defendant bonded out. That attorney
died and the judge never ruled on it. we believe this is a violation of his 6th amendment and may have caused the outcome of the case to go in the favor of the state, and he received 75 years for these charges
A: Depending on when he received the 75 years you either want to speak to a criminal appellate attorney or a post conviction habeas attorney - not a "civil rights" attorney. Which county? How long ago?
Kiele Linroth Pace agrees with this answer
A:
The right to a speedy trial is waived unless affirmatively asserted and the judge isn't required to rule on a motion that is filed but never urged. So if there was a speedy trial issue it more likely lies at the feet of the defense attorney in the form of ineffective assistance of counsel. An attorney who had been keeping up with modern criminal case law would have filed a notice to invoke the right to speedy trial, rather than a motion.
All that said, unless key evidence or witness testimony was lost due to the delay then this is probably a losing issue for you. Conversely, if the defendant's air-tight alibi witness happened to DIE some slow lingering death while the case was pending... and the defense attorney knew or should have known... well now you've potentially got something to worth pursuing.
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