20-Year Delay Not A Speedy Trial

The government is responsible for a 20-year delay in prosecution when they neglected to bring the case before in spite of various opportunities.

 

City of Grand Forks v. Gale, 2016 BL 78728, N.D., No. 20150204, 3/15/16

     The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the city was mostly responsible for this delay because prosecutors did not try to find the defendant after he failed to appear at a scheduled sentencing for a plea deal in 1995.

     The court said that they "will not excuse defendants on speedy trial grounds when they purposefully evade prosecution, but we also cannot excuse the government when it does not fulfill its burden of diligent prosecution." The court indicated that both parties bore some responsibility, but that the city was more culpable because an accused is not responsible for his prosecution.

     Though the defendant had moved to Colorado, he had reappeared in North Dakota courts on various occasions for criminal and child support hearings, and the city did not try to execute the 1995 warrant until 20 years after the fact. The court looked at the four-part test in Barker v. Wingo, which weighs the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the extent to which the defendant asserted his speedy-trial right, and any prejudice.

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/City_of_Grand_Forks_v_Gale_2016_ND_58_Court_Opinion?1459439254