DPA Klopfer v. North Carolina

Klopfer v. North Carolina (1967)

Sixth Amendment to the Constitution

Sixth Amendment to the Constitution

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial..."

Speedy Trial Clause : "a trial conducted according to prevailing rules and procedures that takes place without unreasonable or undue delay or within a statutory period"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/speedy%20trial

I- BackgroundII- Supreme Court's Decision III- Consequences

I- Background

• Peter Klopfer
• January 3, 1964

Timeline

The State of North Carolina charged Peter Klopfer with criminal trespass

The prosecutor requested a nolle prosequi

The North Carolina State Supreme Court upheld the Orange Superior Court's decision

The Orange County jury failed to reach a verdict at the Orange Superior Court trial

A nolle prosequi with leave is "a procedural device whereby the accused is discharged from custody but remains subject to prosecution at any time in the future at the discretion of the prosecutor.”

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/386/213/

Timeline

The State of North Carolina charged Peter Klopfer with criminal trespass

The prosecutor requested a nolle prosequi

The North Carolina State Supreme Court upheld the Orange Superior Court's decision

The Orange County jury failed to reach a verdict at the Orange Superior Court trial

II- Supreme Court’s Decision

II- Supreme Court’s Decision

Does the nolle prosequi deny Klopfer his constitutional right to a speedy trial, and is therefore included in the Sixth Amendment?

II- Supreme Court’s Decision

• March 13, 1967
• Extended the Sixth Amendment's speedy trial guarantee
• Applied this right to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Unanimous opinion

NameSurname

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Justice Clark

Justice Douglas

Justice Black

Justice Warren

Unanimous opinion

NameSurname

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Justice Fortas

Justice White

Justice Brennan

Concurring opinion

Justice Stewart

Justice Harlan

The U.S. Supreme Court

"...the right to a speedy trial is as fundamental as any of the rights secured by the Sixth Amendment"

III- Consequences

• Quoted 22 times by the Supreme Court
• Smith v. Hooey (1969)
• Dickey v. Florida (1970)
• Barker v. Wingo (1972)

• Length of the delay
• The reason for the delay
• The time and manner in which the defendant asserted his right
• The degree of prejudice to the defendant which the delay has caused.

Thanks!

Sources

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/386/213.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klopfer_v._North_Carolinahttps://www.oyez.org/cases/1966/100 https://casetext.com/case/klopfer-v-north-carolina/case-summarieshttps://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100039965;jsessionid=A3345D7FC701067B438D6290847A5811https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Klopfer_v._North_Carolinahttps://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/speedy%20trial https://view.genial.ly/63f35465cc051d0011255bd7/presentation-organic-presentation-ii