Comments for April Meeting Review at http://mnatheists.org , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://mnatheists.org Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:39:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://mnatheists.org/content/view/330/88/#comment-300 There's a statement in the article that can't be true: "the laws of Georgia do not give defendants the right to a speedy trial". The right to a speedy trial is a federal constitutional guarantee to all citizens that can't be abrogated by any state, even the "sovereign" state of Georgia. The guarantee only applies, however, to criminal matters. I haven't read the Georgia statute, but assisted suicide laws are generally drafted as criminal laws. Hence those FEN defendants charged with assisting suicide are entitled to a speedy trial and should demand it. (Of course, the State can convince the court to delay proceedings if it offers good reasons [a combination of sound legal reasoning supported by evidence; see my other comment] for doing so, but not indefinitely.) RICO law is much more complicated. In Georgia and elsewhere, as I recall, it has been used by the Southern Poverty Law Center to take on the Klan and other hate groups. As I also recall, RICO offenses can be brought as criminal or civil offenses. Because of the difference in the burden of proof, and the slipperiness of the element of conspiracy, RICO offenses are usually brought civilly. There is no federal constitutional right to a speedy trial in civil matters. - Scott Jackson Wed, 20 May 2009 16:37:04 +0100