Timely assertion of the right is important as the third factor of the Barker analysis. The Court of Criminal Appeals recognized this in Zamorano when the Court categorized the Defendant’s request for speedy trial as “tardy” but found that the “defendant’s assertion of the right” prong should not weigh against the defendant because it was not a case where the Defendant never asked for a hearing and noted “nothing indicated an affirmative desire for delay” on the part of the defendant. Zamorano, 84 S.W.3d at 652. There are often reasons that a defendant would want a delay in trial proceedings, especially in the case of a potentially large sentence. An attorney filing continuances or a defendant continually signing pass slips can be something the Court will look at. The Dallas Court in Reed stated that a motion to dismiss gets lesser weight than an assertion of the right/motion for speedy hearing in a probation revocation case.
Zamorano also illustrates that very little prejudice need be shown by the Defendant in cases involving considerable delay under the fourth prong of the Barker analysis. In fact, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that missing 11 days of work and having to regularly check in with a bail bond company was sufficient prejudice in light of the delay. Zamorano, 84 S.W.3d at 654.