Court of Appeals: Speedy Trial Law Applies to Traffic Violation

From the Oregon Court of Appeals, Oregon v. Greenlick A127374),

“This case presents the opportunity to decide whether the statutory speedy trial right, ORS 135.747, applies to traffic violations. Defendant moved to dismiss the charge, asserting that the state had violated ORS 135.747 by bringing him to trial some 15 months after the citation was issued. The trial court did not address the state’s contention that the statute was inapplicable, but ruled that the length of the delay was not unreasonable. For the reasons that follow, we reverse….

Thus, a straightforward application of ORS 135.747 in the context of a violation requires that a defendant be brought to trial within a reasonable period of time after the issuance of the citation. In this case, we have no difficulty concluding that a delay of 15 months between the issuance of the citation and trial was unreasonable in the absence of any other circumstances.”

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