In a crisp opinion delivered by Justice Ginsburg, joined by six other Justices, the Court held on 3/9/09, that delay caused by appointed counsel’s requests for continuances, over her client’s objections, are not attributable to the State for speedy trial purposes. ”Once a lawyer has undertaken the representation of an accused, the duties and obligations are the same whether the lawyer is privately retained, appointed, or serving in a legal aid or defender program”. Disagreeing with the Vermont Supreme Court, Ginsburg et. al. held that “assigned counsel’s failure to move the case forward does not warrant attribution of delay to the State” and “assigned counsel generally are not state actors for purposes of a speedy trial claim.”
The Court did, however, leave open the possibility that its rule was not absolute, stating “[d]elay resulting from a ‘systematic breakdown in the public defender system’ could be charged to the State” if such facts were of record, but “the Vermont Supreme Court made no [such] determination . . . “
Read the full opinion by clicking this.
