Unless you’re defined as an “unlawful enemy
combatant” by the U.S. Government and are on permanent
incarcerated holiday at Guantanamo Bay, every American is entitled
to his or her
Sixth Amendment rights when accused of a crime.
Thus is law enforcement’s dilemma — particularly when a suspect
is a “flight risk,” meaning they may flee to avoid prosecution —
when deciding when to cuff them and, in stuffy intellectual terms,
suspend their individual liberties. Hook them too soon, and
prosecutors may not have enough time to put the case together
before their “speedy trial” clock runs out, but leave them be and
the public risks increased victimization if they are, in fact,
actually committing crime.
This wasn’t an issue in the case of Samuel Bice,
the first defendant charged in the Bainbridge case of police car
vandalism. But Mark Duncan, the island’s deputy police chief,
told me Monday he wanted to ensure all investigatory ducks were in
a row for future arrests, to ensure said “clocks” wouldn’t run
out.
Barbara Dennis, deputy prosecutor who charged Bice with three
counts of first-degree malicious mischief, said the trial clock
wouldn’t be an issue in the case. And if — or rather when — further
arrests occur, Dennis said even if prosecutors don’t bring charges
once they’re arrested, they can re-file them later without worrying
about the “trial clock.” Only once statute of limitations runs out
— three years after the arrest in this case — would it become an
issue, she said.
So what are the definitions of these “speedy” sixth amendment
issues?
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