Speedy Trial - No Mere Ceremonial

In recent years, there has been a progressive refinement of individual rights, to the extent that due process must be accorded to the participant in not only judicial proceedings, but administrative actions as well. Yet, in the face of this, the anomaly exists that one highly important individual right, clearly defined by the Speedy-Trial Clause of the Sixth Amendment, is persistently abused by courts who adhere to overly strict, and demonstrably improper, interpretations of its requirements, and by prosecutors who seem to feel that a prompt determination of the innocence or guilt of the accused is a matter of grace, not of right