6 Mass. App. Ct. 906 | Mass. App. Ct. | 1978
1. There was no error in the denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictments on the ground that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was denied. Applying the familiar "balancing process” articulated in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530-533 (1972), we find that the interval of twenty-one and one-half months between arrest and trial is sufficient to trigger further inquiry. Compare Commonwealth v. Campbell, 5 Mass. App. Ct. 571, 581-582 (1977). Much of the delay is attributable to the Commonwealth, although the defendant concedes that some of the delay is attributable to his own requests for continuances. Other continuances were granted, according to the docket entries, "by agreement” of the parties. The defendant failed to object to any of the continuances and does not contend that the Commonwealth intentionally sought to delay his trial. Thus, while evidence that the Commonwealth did not intentionally delay the trial does not excuse the delay, the reasons for the delay should be weighed less heavily than in a case of an intentional prosecutorial attempt to frustrate the defense. Commonwealth v. Burhoe, 3 Mass. App. Ct. 590, 594 (1975). Commonwealth v. Blaney, 5 Mass. App. Ct. 96, 99 (1977). Commonwealth v. Campbell, supra at 582-583. More significant is the fact that the defendant failed to file the present motion to dismiss until the day before trial
Judgments affirmed.
The defendant had filed an earlier motion to dismiss on unrelated grounds.
The denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress those items has not been argued on appeal.