Rights & liberties
right to a speedy trial
The constitutional right to be tried without unreasonable delay, backed federally by the Speedy Trial Act's specific deadlines.
In full
The constitutional test weighs the length of delay, the reason, whether the defendant asserted the right, and prejudice. The Speedy Trial Act adds hard numbers for federal cases: generally thirty days from arrest to indictment and seventy days from indictment to trial, with numerous excludable periods that in practice extend both.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.