AR Supreme Court - April 7, 2016

Cody W. Dowden, Attorney at Law
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Carter v. State - speedy trial - affirmed

"Speedy trial" is the rule that a person who is free on bond must be brought to trial within 12 months of the date of their arrest, excluding certain periods of time. Here, Carter's jury trial occurred over 400 days after the date of his arrest.

Two periods of time were considered for exclusion: a continuance requested by the defense attorney because of family illness, and Carter's trial being moved by the trial court because of docket congestion. The court ruled that while the trial court's continuance was not done properly, and therefore could not be excluded, it didn't matter because the defense attorney's request was excludable, therefore bringing the case to trial under the 12 month deadline when that time was removed from calculations.

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