TITLE TWO — PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS
Rule 19. Speedy Trial
The Right. The State of Ridgeway and the defendant shall each have a right to a speedy trial, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.305, and every person prosecuted for a criminal offense has the right to a speedy public trial guaranteed by Const. art. I, § 6. This rule governs the exercise of that right in the criminal division of the Superior Court.
Commencement of the Period. The period prescribed by subdivision (c) begins to run at the arraignment of the defendant upon the indictment or criminal information, as provided by Rule 7, including an arraignment held under Rule 7.2(3) upon charges filed after a first appearance. Where the defendant is arrested upon an accusatory instrument and arraignment does not occur, the period begins to run upon the expiration of the period of pre-trial detention permitted by 6 R. Stat. § 131.203. A first appearance held under Rule 3.1, and detention under Rule 7.2(2) while the State files charges, start no period under this rule; where a defendant released under Rule 7.2(2)(b) is thereafter charged, the period begins at the arraignment upon that instrument. Where a charge is renewed after a nolle prosequi or a dismissal without prejudice upon the same criminal conduct or episode, the periods are aggregated as provided by Rule 16(e).
Length of the Period. Excluding the periods described in subdivision (d), trial shall commence:
not later than ninety-six (96) hours after arraignment, where the defendant is held in pre-trial detention;
not later than one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours after arraignment, where the defendant is not held in pre-trial detention;
not later than two hundred forty (240) hours after arraignment, where the defendant is charged with treason and has demanded a trial by jury under 6 R. Stat. § 131.111 and § 131.306; and
not later than one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours after the entry of the order or rescript, where a new trial is ordered under Rule 30, a mistrial is declared, or a conviction is reversed and the charge remanded for trial.
The Pre-Trial Period. The periods prescribed by this subdivision are fixed in relation to the seventy-two (72) hour pre-trial period allowed by Rule 46 and are computed as that rule and subdivision (i) provide. Trial commences when the first witness is sworn, or in a trial by jury when the jury is impanelled and sworn.
Review Where the Period Is Enlarged by Exclusions. Where the total of the excluded periods would cause the trial to commence more than three hundred thirty-six (336) hours after arraignment, the court shall, at intervals of not more than one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours, review upon the record whether the case can proceed and shall enter findings identifying each period then excluded and stating the date and time by which trial must commence.
Excluded Periods. The following periods are excluded from the computation prescribed by subdivision (c):
any period of delay resulting from a continuance granted upon the motion of the defendant or with the defendant’s consent under Rule 10, from the filing of the motion to the date to which the case is continued;
any period of delay resulting from an interlocutory appeal, an application for leave to appeal, or the stay of proceedings under Rule 15(e), or from a report under Rule 34, from the entry of the order appealed from or reported to the entry of the rescript or order of the appellate court, or to the expiration or waiver of the period fixed by Rule 15(b)(1);
any period of delay resulting from proceedings to determine the defendant’s competency to stand trial or criminal responsibility, including the period of any examination ordered under Rule 14(b)(2)(C), from the entry of the order to the entry of the court’s determination;
any period of delay resulting from the unavailability of the defendant, including the defendant’s failure to appear, absence after notice, departure from the proceeding, or status as a fugitive from justice under 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.502 through 131.505 and Rule 33, from the failure to appear to the date on which the defendant is returned to the custody or the presence of the court, subject to the following limitations:
the exclusion ends upon the entry of an absentia authorization under Rule 18.3(f), and no period after that entry is excluded under this paragraph; and
no period is excluded under this paragraph after the expiration of one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours from the entry of a criminal default under Rule 18.2 unless, within that period, the State has moved under Rule 18.3, has petitioned under Rule 33, or has shown upon the record why neither course is available;
any period of delay resulting from a motion under Rule 18.3 or Rule 18.5, from the filing of the motion to the entry of the court’s decision upon it and, where an application is transmitted under Rule 18.3(f)(2), to the entry of the authorizing officer’s determination;
any period of delay resulting from the defendant’s pretrial motions under Rule 13, from the filing of the motion to the entry of the court’s decision upon it;
any period of delay reasonably attributable to the joinder for trial of a codefendant as to whom the period has not run, where no motion for severance has been granted;
any period of delay resulting from a plea tendered by the defendant and thereafter withdrawn, from the tender to the withdrawal;
any period of delay resulting from proceedings to assign, substitute, or discharge counsel, or to determine a waiver of counsel, from the arising of the question to its resolution;
any period during which no charge was pending, where a charge is renewed under Rule 16(e); and
any period of delay resulting from the failure of the defendant to comply with an order entered under Rule 14, from the date compliance was due to the date of compliance.
No Other Exclusion. No period is excluded except as this subdivision provides. Delay resulting from congestion of the court’s calendar, from the unavailability of the prosecuting attorney, from the State’s failure to produce a defendant in custody as required by Rule 18(i), from the State’s delay in moving under Rule 18.3 after a criminal default has been entered, or from the State’s failure to make disclosure required by Rule 14 is not excluded.
Findings. A period is excluded under subdivisions (d)(1) through (d)(12) only where the court has entered upon the docket, at or before the time of the trial, the fact and the reason for the exclusion. The court may enter such findings retrospectively upon a motion under subdivision (e), where the record establishes the ground of the exclusion.
Motion to Dismiss.
By Whom; When. The defendant, or the State, may move to dismiss upon the ground that the period prescribed by subdivision (c) has expired. The motion shall be filed before trial commences. A party who fails to move before trial commences waives the right conferred by this rule as to every period then elapsed.
Contents. The motion shall state the date and time of arraignment in Coordinated Universal Time; shall compute the period elapsed by reference to the entries upon the docket; and shall identify each period the moving party concedes to be excluded under subdivision (d).
Response. The opposing party shall respond within twenty-four (24) hours of service, identifying each period it contends is excluded and the ground of the exclusion.
Hearing. The court shall hear and decide the motion expeditiously and before trial commences, and shall enter findings identifying each period excluded and the resulting date and time by which trial must commence.
Burden. The moving party bears the burden of showing the period elapsed as computed from the docket. The opposing party bears the burden of showing that a period is excluded under subdivision (d).
Remedy.
Dismissal. Where the court finds that the period prescribed by subdivision (c) has expired, it shall dismiss the charge or charges affected. No lesser remedy shall be substituted upon the motion of a defendant.
With or Without Prejudice. In determining whether the dismissal shall be with or without prejudice the court shall consider the seriousness of the offense; the facts and circumstances of the case which led to the delay; the impact of a reprosecution upon the administration of these rules and upon the administration of justice; whether the defendant was held in pre-trial detention during the delay; and the prejudice to the defendant caused by the delay.
Dismissal With Prejudice Required. The dismissal shall be with prejudice where the court finds that the delay was deliberately caused by the State in order to obtain a tactical advantage or to harass the defendant, or that the defendant was held in pre-trial detention beyond the period permitted by 6 R. Stat. § 131.203 as a result of the delay.
Upon the State’s Motion. Where the State moves under subdivision (e) and the court finds that the delay is attributable to the defendant, the remedy is not dismissal but an order advancing the trial to a date certain, the exclusion of evidence not timely disclosed under Rule 14(c), or sanctions under Rule 48.
Consequences of Dismissal. Upon a dismissal under this subdivision the court shall recall any outstanding warrant in the case and cause the corresponding entry to be removed from the in-game warrants system; a defendant in pre-trial detention shall be released forthwith; every summoned witness is excused; and the prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim as provided by Rule 20(d)(1).
The Right of the State.
Motion to Advance. The State may at any time move to advance the trial to an earlier date, and the court shall grant the motion where the interests of justice so require and the defendant is not prejudiced.
Continuances Over the State’s Objection. A continuance granted upon the defendant’s motion over the objection of the State shall be for a fixed period stated upon the record. The court shall not grant an open-ended continuance.
Dismissal Upon the State’s Motion. Where the court finds that the period has expired through delay attributable to neither party and that the State’s right under 6 R. Stat. § 131.305 has been denied, it may enter such orders as will secure a prompt trial, including an order setting the case for trial at a date certain and an order under Rule 17(a)(3) to produce a witness.
Waiver.
By the Defendant. A defendant may waive the period prescribed by subdivision (c) only personally, upon the record, and only for a stated period. A general or indefinite waiver is of no effect. The court shall enter the waiver and its duration upon the docket.
By Motion for a Continuance. A motion for a continuance made by the defendant, or a continuance to which the defendant consents, operates as a waiver of the period covered by the continuance and no further.
No Waiver as a Condition. The court shall not require a waiver under this subdivision as a condition of granting relief to which the defendant is otherwise entitled.
Failure to Demand. A defendant’s failure to demand a speedy trial is not a waiver of the right conferred by this rule, but a party must move under subdivision (e) to obtain the remedy.
Computation of Time. Every period prescribed by this rule is computed in hours, runs continuously in Coordinated Universal Time from the timestamp recorded for the triggering event, and is not interrupted by any day of the week or by any hour of the day. There is no court-day calendar and no filing cutoff hour. Where a period is keyed to a filing, it runs from the moment the electronic filing system records the complete set of documents comprising that filing as received; a submission that remains tendered and incomplete starts no period. The timestamps entered upon the docket are prima facie evidence of the times of the events they record.
No Computation by the System. The electronic filing system computes no period under this rule, maintains no calendar of trial dates, and gives no notice that a period has run. The periods prescribed by this rule are self-executing and are enforced only upon the motion of a party or upon the court’s own motion.
Priority. In setting cases for trial the court shall give first priority to cases in which the defendant is held in pre-trial detention, second priority to cases in which an absentia authorization has been entered under Rule 18.3 and to cases in which a motion under Rule 18.5 is pending, third priority to cases in which the defendant is charged with an offense for which a sentence of death may be imposed under 6 R. Stat. § 131.402, and fourth priority to all other cases.
Detention. No bond hearing shall be held, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.205, and neither the running nor the expiration of a period prescribed by this rule shall be the occasion for one. The expiration of the period of pre-trial detention permitted by 6 R. Stat. § 131.203 does not dismiss the charge, does not stop the running of a period prescribed by this rule, and does not excuse the defendant from appearing.
Duty of the Court and the Clerk. The clerk shall enter upon the docket the date and time of the arraignment, of each continuance and its duration, of each motion and its decision, of each order of exclusion entered under subdivision (d)(13), and of the commencement of trial. At the conclusion of each pretrial event the judge shall state upon the record the date and time by which trial must commence, and the clerk shall enter it upon the docket.