Michael Shane Jolly v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas held, for the first time in the state, that the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial encompasses a right to speedy sentencing. Applying the Barker v. Wingo factors, the court concluded that the nearly six-year delay between the defendant's guilty plea and sentencing violated that right. The court vacated the sentence and ordered Jolly released from custody.

Holdings

1. The Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial encompasses a criminal defendant's right to speedy sentencing.
2. The State's nearly six-year delay in sentencing Jolly violated his Sixth Amendment right to speedy sentencing.
3. The proper remedy for denial of the right to speedy sentencing is to vacate the sentence and release the defendant from custody.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial encompasses a right to speedy sentencing after a defendant has pleaded guilty.
2. Whether the nearly six-year delay between Jolly's guilty plea and sentencing violated that right under the Barker v. Wingo factors.
3. What remedy is appropriate for an unconstitutional delay in sentencing.

Disposition

vacated