speedy trial

speedy trial
speedy trial /'spē-dē-/ n: a trial conducted according to prevailing rules and procedures that takes place without unreasonable or undue delay or within a statutory period
◇ The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed to criminal defendants by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The purposes of the right as explained by the U.S. Supreme Court are to keep a person who has not yet been convicted from serving lengthy jail time, to lessen the time that the accused must endure the anxiety and publicity of the impending trial, and to minimize the damage that delay might cause to the person's ability to present a defense. Although the Constitution does not set out any specific time within which a trial must commence in order to be deemed speedy, some states have enacted laws establishing a limit whose expiration results in a dismissal of the charges.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

speedy trial
n.
A criminal trial conducted according to proper regulations and without unnecessary or arbitrary delays, a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


speedy trial
In criminal prosecutions, the right of a defendant to have a trial within a short time, premised on the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process. Each state has a statute or constitutional provision limiting the time an accused person may be held before trial (for example, 45 days). Charges must be dismissed and the defendant released if the period expires without trial. However, defendants often waive the right to a speedy trial in order to prepare a stronger defense or negotiate a plea to a lesser offense.
Category: Criminal Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


speedy trial
n. Guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a trial conducted without arbitrary and vexatious delays, begun promptly and conducted with reasonable expedience.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.

speedy trial
n.
   in criminal prosecutions, the right of a defendant to demand a trial within a short time since to be held in jail without trial is a violation of the "due process" provision of the 5th Amendment (applied to the states by the 14th Amendment). Each state has a statute or constitutional provision limiting the time an accused person may be held before trial (e.g. 45 days). Charges must be dismissed and the defendant released if the period expires without trial. However, defendants often waive the right to a speedy trial in order to prepare a stronger defense, and if the accused is free on bail he/she will not be hurt by the waiver.
   See also: trial

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Speedy trial — Criminal procedure Criminal trials and convictions …   Wikipedia

  • speedy trial — The right of the accused to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution and such right is implemented by 18 U.S.C.A. No. 3161 et seq. and Fed.R.Crim.P. 50. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • speedy trial — A right of an accused. 21 Am J2d Crim L § 241. A trial conducted according to fixed rules, regulations, and proceedings of law, free from vexatious, capricious, and oppressive delays. State v Jackson, 228 Or 371, 365 P2d 294, 89 ALR2d 1225;… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Speedy Trial Act — Federal law establishing time limits for carrying out major events, i.e. indictment, arraignment, etc., in a criminal prosecution. Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations …   Law dictionary

  • speedy trial — …   Useful english dictionary

  • right to speedy trial — See speedy trial …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • trial — tri·al n [Anglo French, from trier to try]: a judicial examination of issues of fact or law disputed by parties for the purpose of determining the rights of the parties compare hearing, inquest at trial: in or during the course of a trial Merriam …   Law dictionary

  • trial — A judicial examination and determination of issues between parties to action, whether they be issues of law or of fact, before a court that has jurisdiction. Tittsworth v. Chaffin, Mo.App., 741 S.W.2d 314, 317. A judicial examination, in… …   Black's law dictionary

  • trial — n. legal proceedings 1) to conduct, hold a trial 2) to bring smb. to trial; to put smb. on trial 3) to stand trial for (he stood trial for embezzlement) 4) to go to trial (the case went to trial) 5) to waive a (jury) trial (the accused waived a… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • speedy — [[t]spi͟ːdi[/t]] speedier, speediest ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n A speedy process, event, or action happens or is done very quickly. We wish Bill a speedy recovery... This would be a very speedy trial... I ll sell at a discount in return for a speedy… …   English dictionary

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