Representative Wally Hicks (R-Grants Pass) introduced HB 2962 that would have brought Oregon’s speedy trial rules in line with protections provided by the U.S. and Oregon constitutions. Under existing law, Oregon’s statutes provide greater protection of the right to a speedy trial than do the constitutions.
Oregon statutes allow for the dismissal of a criminal case if there has been an “unreasonable delay” on the part of the state. Oregon statutes do not require that the defendant show he or she has been prejudiced by such delay, but the constitutions do require such showing.
While HB 2962 would have preserved the constitutional standard for speedy trial, we testified in opposition to the bill because it eroded the additional protections that have been valued in Oregon dating back to the time Oregon was a territory. We acknowledge and lament that the problem of inadequate resources in our criminal justice system is immediate and significant, an issue that proponents of the bill cited as the reason for the bill, but we also do not think that HB 2962 took the right approach because it balanced the hardship on the backs of criminal defendants. We pushed for a more comprehensive discussion about the policy implications of eroding existing speedy trial protections for criminal defendants.
Though HB 2962 passed through the House, the Senate Committee on Judiciary agreed with our position and, as a compromise to passing the bill, amended it to allow for such thorough conversation after the legislative session. The amendment puts a sunset on the current statute so that the speedy trial laws will be repealed on April 1, 2014, thereby forcing the Legislature to take up the issue again in the short February 2014 session.
VICTORY! PASSED
42-18 House SCORECARD VOTE; 27-2-1 Senate
47-12-1 House concurrence
