State v. Luis A. Ramirez, 2022AP959-CR, 4/25/24, District IV (recommended for publication); petition for review granted 10/7/24, case activity In a must-read defense win, COA holds that the State’s “cavalier disregard” for Ramirez’s speedy trial rights entitle him to dismissal of the underlying complaint. Be warned: This is a lengthy opinion, the upshot of which is… Read more
38. Speedy Trial, 6th Am.
State v. Ned Guerra, 2022AP2098-CR, 7/19/23, District 2 (1-judge decision; not eligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) Twenty-0ne months passed between the filing of the criminal complaint and Guerra’s trial. The delay was caused by a state’s witness’ temporary unavailability and the circuit court’s COVID-based backlog of higher-priority trials. While Guerra clearly asserted his right… Read more
State v. Benjamin G. Churley, 2022AP189-CR, District 4, 12/8/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) The 35-month delay in Churley’s case did not violate his constitutional right to a speedy trial. In November 2017 Churley was charged with operating while intoxicated and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration. He filed pretrial motions… Read more
State v. Ronald Eugene Provost, 2020 WI App 21; case activity (including briefs) It’s unclear why this opinion is recommended for publication. Best guess is that is provides a (rather thin) gloss on the “systemic breakdown” exception to the rule that delays attributable to defense counsel don’t weigh in favor of a speedy trial violation… Read more
State v. Julio Cesar Pacheco Arias, 2017AP228-CR, 9/26/17, District 1 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs) In 2015, Pacheco-Arias was charged with 2 separate OWI offenses just weeks apart. Because he had 2 prior OWI convictions, both of the 2015 OWIs were charged as a misdemeanor OWI-3rd offenses. Under the law in… Read more
Betterman v. Montana, USSC No. 14-1457 (May 19, 2016), affirming State v. Betterman, 342 P.3d 971 (Mont. 2015); SCOTUSblog page (includes links to briefs and commentary) Brandon Betterman pled guilty to bail jumping, and then spent 14 months in jail before he was finally sentenced. He appealed, contending that the lengthy delay violated his Sixth Amendment… Read more
Question presented: Whether the Sixth Amendment’s Speedy Trial Clause applies to the sentencing phase of a criminal prosecution, protecting a criminal defendant from inordinate delay in final disposition of his case. Lower court opinion: State v. Betterman, 342 P. 3d 971 (Mont. 2015) Docket Scotusblog page In Pollard v. United States, 352 U.S. 354, 361… Read more
Chester O’Quinn v. Tom Spiller, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 14-1836, 11/25/15 The state appellate court reasonably applied Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972), the controlling Supreme Court precedent for Sixth Amendment speedy‐trial claims, when it rejected O’Quinn’s claim that the 42-month delay in holding his trial violated his constitutional right to… Read more
