216 N.W. 787 | Minn. | 1927
In September, 1922, the grand jury of Todd county returned four indictments against defendant accusing him of (1) murder, (2) burglary, (3) grand larceny, and (4) possession of burglary tools. Upon arraignment defendant entered his plea of not guilty to each of the indictments. His immediate trial upon the first indictment resulted in his conviction of murder in the third degree. He was sentenced and committed to the state penitentiary where he has ever since been confined in penal servitude.
The other three cases against the accused remained upon the district court calendar to and including the March, 1924, term of court, having been continued upon motion of the county attorney from term to term without notice to defendant. The county attorney caused the cases to be replaced upon the calendar for the February, 1927, term, a motion having been made for an order dismissing the indictments. Defendant's application for the dismissals rests upon the claim that the defendant has not been given a speedy trial within contemplation of the law.
Aside from the constitutional provisions (U.S. Const. Amend. VI, and art.
The constitutional and statutory provisions for a speedy trial are for the protection of the defendant, but that does not mean that the state is the only one that may initiate action. There is really no reason for the courts to free an accused simply because a dilatory prosecutor has "gone to sleep at the switch" (no reference to counsel in this case) while the defendant and his counsel rest in silence. We hold that these solicitous provisions are not to be used as offensive weapons, but are for the benefit of defendants who claim their protection. They are a shield, and as said in State v. *155
Rowley,
Affirmed.