"
Denial of a speedy trial" (a term of
jurisprudence) refers to a
procedural defense; via which, a
defendant argues that they should not be held
criminally liable for
actions which broke the
law, because the
criminal justice system placed them in
prison for an "unreasonable" length of
time (prior to any
trial). In the
US, this defense is based upon the
6th Constitutional Amendment; which states: "In all criminal
prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public[?] trial..." In many
jurisdictions, if a defendant remains imprisoned for more than 90-120
days, before a trial occurs, all charges are automatically dropped.