NCJ Number
73828
Date Published
1980
Length
385 pages
Annotation
This compendium of materials on the legislative history of title I of the Speedy Trial Act includes information on the act's genesis and development, excerpts from congressional hearings and committee reports, and the full text of title I.
Abstract
Title I prescribes time limits within which indictments must be filed and trials commenced in Federal criminal cases. The introductory essay traces the genesis of the act from its beginning (a bill introducted by Representative Abner J. Mikva in 1969) to the enactment of the Speedy Trial Act Amendments Act of 1979. The historical survey also attempts to draw together some relationships among provisions so that the development of the language of a particular provision can be put in the context of the development of the entire bill. Also presented are excerpts from congressional hearings, and committee reports reproduced verbatim and arranged according to the sections of the statute to which they pertain. The material focuses on those sections of title I that are likely to raise problems of interpretation in the context of litigation; sources that bear only on the planning provisions of the title, law review articles, and similar materials are excluded. Finally, the full text of title I as it appeared in successive versions of the bill is given. A chronology of major source documents is included.