Ervin's Speedup Legacy

The Sixth Amendment is most explicit: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy ... trial." Defense lawyers and hard-nosed cops alike support the principle, in theory at least. The innocent get freed faster, the guilty get put away faster, and the community has a better sense of the quid pro quo of punishment for crime.

Nonetheless, in recent years the criminal justice system had fallen far behind. Recently Congress, led by Senator Sam Ervin, passed a little-noticed bill aimed at shortening the delay in federal courts. The new law, signed by President Ford last week, provides that if a defendant is not tried within 100 days of his arrest, the charges against him must be dismissed.

Congress was following the lead of Florida, California and Arizona, among others. Like the laws in those states, the federal measure has some provisos. Any delay sought by the defendant will not count in the time limit. Extensions will be permitted in cases requiring complex pretrial proceedings like psychiatric observation of the accused.

Phased In. The legislators were most concerned about the prospect of hundreds of criminals being turned loose because the court system could not quickly adjust to the new rule. That problem briefly plagued Florida. Two key congressional compromises sought to avoid such difficulties in federal courts. Dismissed charges may be refiled by the prosecution if the judge involved agrees. And the 100-day deadline will not take effect until 1980. Meanwhile, it will be up to Congress to provide the judiciary, public defenders and the Justice Department with extra personnel needed to make the new system work.

The bill was largely the result of four years of effort by Senator Ervin, who, along with John Conyers in the House, helped work out many of the compromises with hesitant fellow legislators. "This process of refinement has developed a bill which carefully balances the rights of the individual and society," Ervin told his colleagues on the Senate floor two weeks ago. They agreed and overwhelmingly gave it final approval. The moment provided a fitting capstone to Ervin's career as a civil libertarian; the vote came on his last day in the Senate.

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