September 3, 2008 11:24AM 

# Speedy Trial? 

By [Tim Lynch](https://www.cato.org/people/tim-lynch) 

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Joseph Shepard sat in local jails for almost two years on drug related charges. According to the [*St. Louis Post-Dispatch*](http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/9F383B4342A46DDC862574B50014E785?OpenDocument), he’s a man the system forgot–ignored by prosecutors, judges, and his own attorney. (Via [How Appealing](http://howappealing.law.com/)).

In North Carolina, the Courts have [ruled](https://www.cato.org/2007/01/10/its-not-just-about-nifong-part-i/) that the busier the state gets, the more we need to forget about the constitutional rule requiring speedy trials. And the drug war makes the courthouse a very busy place indeed.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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