The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant a speedy trial by an “impartial jury.”  A criminal defendant must be brought to trial for his crimes within a reasonably short time after arrest.  Before being convicted of most crimes, the defendant has a constitutional right to be tried by a jury, which must find the defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.”  In the California Penal Code §1382 clarifies that right, entitling defendants to a dismissal if certain time limits are violated, unless the prosecution can show good cause.

Unless they waive time, in-custody misdemeanor defendants must be brought to trial within 30 days after their arraignment or entry of plea, whichever occurs later. Out-of-custody misdemeanor defendants must be brought to trial within 45 days after arraignment or entry of plea, unless they waive time. When a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a misdemeanor, judgment and sentencing cannot be less than six hours, nor more than five days after the plea unless the defendant waives time.

In felony cases, when a defendant pleads not guilty at arraignment, you must set the date for the preliminary hearing, and unless both sides waive time, the preliminary hearing must be held at least two but no more than ten court days after the arraignment or the plea, whichever comes later. Many courts also calendar prehearing conferences a couple of days before the preliminary hearing. The defendant must be brought to trial within 60 calendar days after the arraignment on the information, assuming probable cause is found and he or she is held to answer at the preliminary hearing.

A defendant may, however, waive his or her right to speedy trial. If the defendant waives his or her statutory speedy trial rights, you may set a trial date beyond the statutory time limits.

If the defendant later withdraws the waiver in open court, the case must be brought to trial within either 30/45/60 days of the withdrawal of the waiver, depending on whether the charges are misdemeanors or felonies, and whether, if a misdemeanor, the defendant is in or out of custody.

If a defendant requests a trial date later than the statutory time limit, a general waiver of his or her speedy trial rights is implied. In that case, the defendant must be brought to trial within 10 days of the requested date unless the defendant waives time.