United States v. Curtis Edward Greer

POLITZ, Circuit Judge:

This appeal occasions an examination of the Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to speedy trial, applying the test established by the Supreme Court in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972).

Curtis Edward Greer, a convicted felon, was indicted on July 16, 1979, on eight counts of possessing firearms in violation of 18 U.S.CApp. § 1202(a)(1), and arrested on July 25, 1979. Following disposition of defense motions to dismiss and to suppress certain evidence, the case was set for trial on February 11, 1980. Instead of trial, on that day…