Barker v. Wingo

From Conservapedia - Reading time: 2 min

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Barker v. Wingo was a United States Supreme Court case involving a defendant's right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment. It set forth four factors to be considered in determining whether a defendant was denied a right to a speedy trial.

In July 1958, an elderly couple in rural Kentucky was murdered. Two suspects were identified: Willie Barker and Silas Manning.

The prosecution believed that the case against Manning was stronger and that they needed Manning to testify against Barker (Manning had already exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination); therefore the prosecution tried Manning first, hoping that upon conviction he would voluntarily testify against Barker. However, the Manning case proved to be difficult: two trials ended in hung juries, two resulted in convictions which were overturned on appeal (one for illegally obtained evidence and one for failure to grant a change of venue); not until December 1962 was Manning finally convicted in two separate trials of the murders (convictions which he chose not to appeal), and after which he agreed to testify against Barker.

Because of the prosecution's decision to try Manning first, and because the rural county held court sessions only three times a year, the case against Barker was reset 16 separate times. Notably, Barker's counsel did not object to the first 11 continuances, but objected to the 12th on speedy trial grounds, then again did not object to the 13th and 14th, but once again objected to the 15th and 16th (the trial court clearly stated after the 16th that the prosecution had to try the case or it would be dismissed). Once the case came to trial in October 1963, Barker's counsel unsuccessfully sought dismissal on speedy trial grounds, which was denied. With Manning as the state's chief witness, Barker was convicted and given a life sentence.

The state appellate court denied Barker's appeal; he was also unsuccessful in Federal District Court (though it gave him a certificate of probable appeal) and at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals level.

The Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in 1972. After noting three reasons why the right to a speedy trial was important, and considering two competing approaches as to how to handle such cases, it adopted four factors to consider:

1. The length of the delay.
2. The reason(s) for the delay.
3. The time and manner in which the defendant has asserted his right to a speedy trial.
4. The degree of prejudice to the defendant which the delay has caused.

After taking the factors into account, Barker's conviction was upheld:

1. The nearly five-year delay between the crime and the trial was "extraordinary"; this factor favored Barker.
2. Only seven months of the delay was justified (due to the illness of the county sheriff, the chief investigating officer in the case), with the remaining delay not justified solely due to trial strategy; this factor favored Barker.
3. Barker's attorney failed to object until the 12th continuance, then failed to object two more times after that, but only began objecting once Manning's convictions were final; this factor was against Barker.
4. Barker was not prejudiced by the delay, and in fact was counting on it (due to the difficulties with Manning's trials) hoping that if Manning couldn't be convicted, Barker would never go to trial; this factor was against Barker.