Weems v. State, 310 Ga. App. 590

Weems was arrested July 28, 2007, in Paulding County on charges of child molestation and aggravated sexual assault against his four-year-old granddaughter.
Weems obtained counsel and was released on bond August 30, 2007.
Indictment for aggravated sexual battery and child molestation was returned October 6, 2009.
Weems waived arraignment on November 2, 2009, and discovery was served July 20, 2010 under reciprocal discovery.
Weems filed a plea in bar and motion to dismiss on October 5, 2010, asserting a speedy-trial violation, and a hearing was held November 16, 2010.
The trial court denied the motion on November 29, 2010, and Weems appealed the denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the State violated Weems's right to a speedy trial under Barker-Doggett.	Weems argues the 40-month delay presumptively prejudiced him.	State contends delay was due to docket backlog and not purposeful; prejudice not shown.	No reversible error; Barker-Doggett balancing upheld the denial of the motion.

Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972) (establishes Barker-Doggett framework for speedy-trial analysis)
Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647 (1992) (clarifies presumptive prejudice and balancing test)
Ferguson v. State, 303 Ga.App. 341 (2010) (second-stage Barker-Doggett balancing; abuse-of-discretion review)
Boseman v. State, 263 Ga. 730 (1994) (impact of delay length on prejudice and factor balance)
West v. State, 295 Ga.App. 15 (2008) (weighs delay-related factors; context-sensitive analysis)
Teasley v. State, 307 Ga.App. 153 (2010) (guides the Barker-Doggett factor weighing)
Nusser v. State, 275 Ga.App. 896 (2005) (timing of asserting speedy-trial right relevant to Barker analysis)
Disharoon v. State, 288 Ga.App. 1 (2007) (anxiety evidence required to prove unusual prejudice)