PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL
By Ramy Louis, Attorney at The Law Offices of Lance Fletcher, PLLC
October 2014 – Client was arrested for his second DWI within the last 10 years and blew more than double the BAC legal limit. He faced two counts related to driving while intoxicated. After through analysis of the case and aggressive representation, all charges were dismissed as a result of a speedy trial violation by the district attorney's office. Just like we have for past clients, we successfully preserved this client's constitutional right to a speedy trial and successful obtained dismissal of all charges.
The Speedy Trial Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy . . . trial . . . ." New York State has codified this clause under Criminal Procedure Law 30.30. Additionally, the New York Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in People v. Sibblies, 22 N.Y. 3d 1174 (2014), stating that time between an off-calendar declaration of readiness for trial and a statement of unreadiness at the next court date may only be excluded from the speedy trial period if the prosecution provides an exceptional fact or circumstance.
Depending on the charges you face, the government has certain specified time to be "ready for trial." Whether you are charged with a felony, misdemeanor, or a violation, the district attorney's office must abide by this law. A part of a good criminal defense attorney's job is to make sure that the district attorney's office does not violate an individual's constitutional right to a speedy trial. A defense attorney can do so by keeping track of the dates when the district attorney announces "ready for trial," when they announce "not ready for trial," and also of how much additional time they request in order to be ready for trial.
At The Law Offices of Lance Fletcher, our attorneys have experience and knowledge to ensure that your right to a speedy trial is protected. We work tirelessly to preserve this right and will file a motion to dismiss for a speedy trial violation when necessary. In the case of our recent client we did just that.