Legal Question in DUI Law in United States Minor Outlying Islands

Statute of Limitations for OWI/DUI Charge, Prejudicial Delay in Issuance of Charges

Since you do not mention what your court date was for, i.e., was it a trial date or a first appearance date, I do not have enough information to form an opinion about whether or not there was any violation of your speedy trial right. If you really meant to ask whether or not a three year delay violates your right to speedy charging (as opposed to speedy trial) I am likewise unable to respond to the limited information which you provide. For example, you do not say which drunk driving offense this would be for you, which would effect the answer. A first offense drunk driving is not a criminal but rather a civil matter, which could have a shorter statute of limitations. On the other hand, the statute of limitations in WI is six years for initial issuance of charges in criminal cases (2nd and subsequent OWI). Even this time limit can be extended for many reasons, including time when the defendant was out of state or otherwise unavailable for prosecution, discovery of new evidence which first solves an old crime, etc. If yours was a second or subsequent offense, the government would therefore have complied with this six year deadline. The six year time limit is satisfied any time that the case is charged out and some attempt is made to serve or arrest the defendant, whether or not the government actually succeeds in bringing the defendant into court during the six year period.

The right to a speedy trial which you mention does not even come into being until the defendant first appears in court. After that, there are also many reasons why a case can finally come to trial in a non-speedy fashion without violating speedy trial rights. These can include defense requests for more time to investigate and prepare; failure of the defendant to appear in court; or government requests for extra time in order to make a witness available. If you want to supply additional detail, I would be happy to take a second look and share my thoughts with you, hopefuly via private email. However, my comments in this online forum to not constitute legal advice and do not create any attorney client relationship between us. You may very well have a defensible case and you should therefore retain an experienced criminal or traffic lawyer as soon as possible to advise you. Good luck