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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Dressler
Barker v. Wingo
Citation:
407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101.Facts
On July 20th, 1958, an elderly couple was beaten to death by intruders. Two suspects, Silas Manning and Willie Barker, the defendant, were arrested shortly after and indicted on September 15th. The State had a stronger case against Manning, and it believed that the defendant could not be convicted until Manning was. On the day of Manning’s trial, the State sought and obtained the first of what was to be a series of 16 continuances of the defendant’s trial. The defendant made no objection.
The State encountered difficulties in its prosecution of Manning. The first trial ended in a hung jury. A second trial resulted in a conviction, but it was later reversed. At his third trial, Manning was again convicted, and the Court of Appeals again reversed. A fourth trial resulted in a hung jury. Finally, after five trials, Manning was convicted, in March 1962, of murdering one victim, and after a sixth trial, in December 1962, he was convicted of murdering the other.
While this was going on, the defendant spent 10 months in jail before obtaining his release by posting a $5,000 bond. He thereafter remained free in the community until his trial. The defendant made no objection, through his counsel, to the first 11 continuances.
When the State moved for the twelfth time to continue the case, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment. The motion was denied, and the State’s motion for a continuance was granted.
Following Manning’s final conviction, the State moved to set the defendant’s trial for March 19th, 1963. But on the day scheduled for trial, it again moved for a continuance until June due to the chief investigator of the case being sick. The defendant objected unsuccessfully. The witness was still unable to testify in June, and the trial was continued again until the September over the defendant’s objection. The trial was set for October 9th, 1963, and the defendant was convicted and given a life sentence. He petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that his right to a speedy trial had been violated.
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