Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-13-2002

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court declined to vacate a conviction of a defendant where the defendant failed to appear and the Court proceeded in absentia. The Defendant appealed based on Speedy trial considerations because 194 days had elapsed between arrest and trial. The Court clarified that the Speedy Trial timeline of 180 days, in MadPlume, is not a hard and fast deadline. Any dismissal on speedy trial grounds lies in the sound discretion of the trial court and can be based on various factors, including: 1) whether the defendant pursued a speedy trial; 2) the length of time included in the delay; 3) the reason for the delay and whether the delay could've been controlled by the prosecutor; and 4) any prejudice caused to the defendant by the delay.

The Court noted that there is no constitutional basis for qualifying a specified number of days or months in speedy trial rights. The 194 days between arraignment and trial fell well within the 365-day limit, pursuant to Tribe v. MadPlume. (See also Tribe v. Mad Plume, 93-AP-08 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., May 20, 1993); Tribe v. Mancha, 91-AP-03 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Aug. 29, 1991))

Tribe v. Tail Feathers, 21-AP-17 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., May 13, 2002)

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