Florida Justices Narrow Defendants’ ‘Speedy Trial’ Right (1)

The right to a speedy trial in Florida begins when a suspect is charged, not when they’re arrested, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a blow to the criminal defense bar.

While all defendants have a right to a “speedy trial” under the US Constitution, there’s no federally-imposed specific time range for prosecutors to either bring or abandon a case. Florida, with 90-day misdemeanor and 175-day felony clocks, is among the roughly half of states that have implemented a specific limit on the amount of time a potential prosecution can hang over a defendant’s head.

“This move by the ...