Federal law generally requires trial to begin within seventy days of the later of the public filing of the indictment or information and the defendant’s first appearance before a judicial officer of the court where the charge is pending. Excluded time can extend the calendar substantially. Seventy days therefore does not mean every federal case reaches trial ten weeks after indictment. [1]
Identify the correct starting event
The Speedy Trial Act separately addresses arrest-to-charge timing, the trial clock, retrial, and other situations. A sealed indictment, an appearance in another district, or a superseding charge can require closer analysis. Use the docket and actual court events rather than counting from a news report or the date someone first learned of an investigation.
For example, an indictment returned before a defendant appears in the charging court may not start the trial calculation on the indictment date alone. The statute expressly uses the later qualifying event. [1]
Some days are excluded
Section 3161(h) identifies exclusions involving specified proceedings, motions, competency matters, interlocutory appeals, unavailable defendants or essential witnesses, and other defined circumstances. An ends-of-justice continuance requires the court’s statutory findings and balancing. Not every delay is excluded merely because a party calls it necessary. [1]
A useful calculation lists the start date, each asserted exclusion, the legal reason, and the remaining nonexcluded days. Counting every calendar day without examining orders can produce a seriously inaccurate result.
What happens if the clock expires?
Section 3162 provides dismissal on a proper defense motion when the applicable trial deadline is violated. The court decides whether dismissal is with or without prejudice using statutory factors. Dismissal without prejudice can permit a new prosecution. The statute also contains a waiver rule for failing to move before trial or a guilty plea. [2]
The constitutional speedy-trial right is separate from the statutory clock. A defendant should not assume that satisfying one framework conclusively resolves the other.
Questions for counsel
- What event started this particular clock?
- Which days are excluded and under what authority?
- What findings support each continuance?
- Has any motion preserved a claimed violation?
- What remedy is legally available?
Related topics include sentencing fact hearings and certificates of appealability in habeas cases. Trial scheduling, sentencing, and collateral review follow different procedural rules.
Primary sources
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.