The Right of the Accused to a Speedy Trial: A Study in U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence

Dr. Fares Menai Al-Mutairi
Associate Professor of Criminal Law Law Dept. – College of Business Studies PAAET – Kuwait
Prof. Mashari Khalifa Al-Aifan

Professor of Criminal Law – College of Law, University of Kuwait

Abstract:

The right of the accused to a speedy trial is one of the rights that is prominent in most international, regional and national documents. The legal systems vary according to the degree of importance to which this right is perceived, as some countries’ legal regulations lack this right, the State of Kuwait for example, while some countries are interested in this right at the level of constitutional texts such as the United States of America.
This study aims to demonstrate the position of the American legislator on the right of the accused to a speedy trial. This study, through its ideas and analysis, aims to provide a future invitation and proposal to the Kuwaiti legislator in order to adopt this right.
In order to achieve the objective of this study, this study faced many questions about this right in terms of: when does this right take effect? Has the U.S. legislature adopted a specific rule to say that this right is being violated? Who benefits from this right? Is it necessary to cause harm to say that there is a violation of this right? Is it necessary to uphold this right to say that it exists? Is legislation regulated by time limits? Are there time limits that are deducted from the period planned for it? Are there other legal grounds for saying that this right has been violated? To answer these questions, we chose to divide the study plan into two demands. The first demand addresses the right of the accused to a speedy trial in terms of the beginning and the breach, and the second requirement is devoted to the requirements of violating the right of the accused to a speedy trial and his punishment.

Keywords: human rights, criminal trial, criminal justice, individual freedoms, objective judgments, trial procedures.

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