Legal delay

“ Though the reprieve in either case produces delay in the execution of a sentence, the means to be used, to determine either of the two just mentioned, are clearly within the President's power to direct; and reprieves in such cases are different in their legal character, and different as to the causes which may induce the exercise of the power to reprieve. ”

“ Article 9 of the contract entitled 'Delays-Damages,' set out a procedure to govern both parties in case of respondent's delay in completion, whether such delay was caused by respondent, the Govern ent, or other causes. If delay were caused by respondent, the Government could terminate the contract, take over the work, and hold respondent and its sureties liable. Or, in the alternative, the Government could collect liquidated damages. ”

“ This being true, as the conclusion that a writ of error has been prosecuted for delay is the inevitable result of a finding that it has been prosecuted upon a Federal ground which is unsubstantial and frivolous, it follows that the question of delay is involved in and requires to be considered in passing upon a motion to dismiss because of the frivolous character of the Federal question. ”

“ Thousands of cases find their way into the courts for the simple reason that to put them there, with the delay involved, is to set up a means to force an unjust settlement. Long delay is caused by non-meritorious cases, and non-meritorious cases are put into the courts because of long delay. ”

“ Upon principle, we should entertain the same opinion, as we think the whole reasoning upon which the delay of the holder to enforce his rights against the drawer is held to discharge the endorser after notice, is founded upon the notion, that the stipulation for delay suspends the present rights and remedies of the holder. ”

“ I do not read the Court's opinion as deciding that in post-Klopfer cases (1) the defendant can challenge only delay occurring after his arrest; (2) he is not entitled to a speedy trial unless he demands it at the time of the delay; (3) he must prove actual prejudice, or (4) the delay must be deliberately caused by the government. It is timely to note that the Court has as yet given scant attention to these and other questions essential to the definition of the speedy-trial guarantee. ”

“ Such a hearing may nonetheless violate Gerstein if the arrested individual can prove that his or her probable cause determination was delayed unreasonably. Examples of unreasonable delay are delays for the purpose of gathering additional evidence to justify the arrest, a delay motivated by ill will against the arrested individual, or delay for delay's sake. In evaluating whether the delay in a particular case is unreasonable, however, courts must allow a substantial degree of flexibility. ”

“ This involves further delay, and in this case further delay is regrettable. But delay is necessary unless we are to resolve the jurisdictional issue by simply assuming the nonexistence of an adequate state ground though in fact one may exist. ”

“ The view that an accused loses his right to a speedy trial by silence or inaction is open to question on at least three grounds. First, it rests on what may be an unrealistic understanding of the effect of delay. One court in explaining the 'demand' rule stated that it 'is based on the almost universal experience that delay in criminal cases is welcomed by defendants as it usually operation in their favor.' United States ex rel. ”

“ Clearly, a deliberate attempt by the government to use delay to harm the accused, or governmental delay that is 'purposeful or oppressive,' is unjustifiable. . . . The same may be true of any governmental delay that is unnecessary, whether intentional or negligent in origin. A negligent failure by the government to ensure speedy trial is virtually as damaging to the interests protected by the right as an intentional failure; when negligence is the cause, the only interest necessarily unaffected is our common concern to prevent deliberate misuse of the criminal process by public officials. ”

“ At the very least this means postponement of a final decision in these cases a year or two years or three years, unless, that is, this Court should, on the second review, choose once more to decide the cases piecemeal. Piecemeal dispositions of criminal cases inevitably cause delays and hamper enforcement of the criminal laws and there is a lot of truth in the old adage that delay is a defendant's best lawyer. ”

“ The idea that important decisions will be more informed and deliberate if they follow some period of reflection does not strike us as unreasonable, particularly where the statute directs that important information become part of the background of the decision. The statute, as construed by the Court of Appeals, permits avoidance of the waiting period in the event of a medical emergency and the record evidence shows that in the vast majority of cases, a 24-hour delay does not create any appreciable health risk. ”

“ It is true that great and inexcusable delay in the enforcement of our criminal law is one of the grave evils of our time. Continuances are frequently granted for unnecessarily long periods of time, and delays incident to the disposition of motions for new trial and hearings upon appeal have come in many cases to be a distinct reproach to the administration of justice. ”

“ Every communication that it made during those years carried with it a request for action, yet because the delay has resulted in enlarged profits to the applicant, and the fact that it would so result ought to have been known to it, it must be assumed that in some way it did cause the delay, and, having so caused the delay, ought to suffer therefor. There is seldom presented a case in which there is such an absolute and total failure of proof of wrong. ”

“ The court may intervene upon a showing of unreasonable delay. There is no need to consider whether any of these safeguards might have been omitted without invalidating the plan. We take the record as we find it. ”

“ If there are right to recover damages there the government exercises its reserved power to delay, they must be found in the particular provisions fixing the rights of the parties.
II. Two of the Judges of the Court of Claims thought consequential damages resulting from delay were recoverable under paragraphs 4 and 3 of the contract. These paragraphs [1] deal with colsely related problems. Article 3, entitled 'Changes', governs the procedure under which the goverment may alter the specifications of the contract for general causes. ”

“ There the contract gave to the United States in terms 'the right of suspending the whole or any part of the work.' The absence of such a provision in the contract here under consideration is mainly relied upon to distinguish this case. But here, as there, the contract provided that no claim shall be made or allowed for any damages which may arise out of any delay caused by the United States. Suspension by the government is one of several possible causes of delay-and not an uncommon one. ”

“ The provision as to time serves the large purpose of removing from persons in the position of respondent liability for 'delay' beyond the stipulated date for which they might otherwise have their contract terminated or might be required to pay liquidated damages without fault. ”

“ Time is an essential element in the proceeding, and one which neither the court nor the judges can disregard. If a delay beyond the limited time occurs, the right to the remedy is gone, and the successful party holds his judgment or decree freed and discharged from this means of staying proceedings for its collection or enforcement. ”

“ The men sat down.
"I sent for thee to mak' my will, Mr. Bonnithorne," said the old man.
The lawyer smiled.
"It is an old maxim that delay in affairs of law is a candle that burns in the daytime; when the night comes it is burned to the socket." ”

“ What substantial difference is there between such a contract, and a contract to suspend a suit already commenced; which is the only apparent remedy for the recovery of the bill during the same period? Is it not the natural, any necessary intendment, that the defendant shall have the full benefit of the whole period as a delay of payment of the debt? It is no answer that a new suit would be attended with more delay. ”

“ No seizure or forfeiture will be invalidated for delay, however, where the claimant is responsible for extending either administrative action or judicial determination beyond the allowable time limits or where administrative or judicial proceedings are postponed pending the consideration of constitutional issues appropriate only for a three-judge court. ”

“ If the provision for liquidated damages is not to govern, it must be either because, as matter of public policy, courts will not, under the circumstances, give it effect (even as a defense) or, because in spite of the explicit finding, no day's delay can, as matter of law, be chargeable to the contractor, where the government has caused some delay. Neither position is tenable. ”

“ None could say that the abutting property owners might not find rights substantial enough, at least, to entitle them to their day in court, a day which, in this State, might stretch into many months, or even several years. Owing to the magnitude of the work, delay might easily result in failure. ”

“ It is earnestly to be desired that some method should be devised for doing away with the long delays which now obtain in the administration of justice, and which operate with peculiar severity against persons of small means, and favor only the very criminals whom it is most desirable to punish. These long delays in the final decisions of cases make in the aggregate a crying evil; and a remedy should be devised. Much of this intolerable delay is due to improper regard paid to technicalities which are a mere hindrance to justice. ”

“ But an accused may just as easily object to delay for its prolongation of the time in which he must live in uncertainty, carrying the emotional and financial burdens of accusation, and possessing the conditioned freedom of a potential felon. Moreover, the passage of time may threaten the ability of both the defendant and the government to prepare and present a complete case; in this regard, delay does not inherently benefit the accused any more than it does the prosecution. ”

“ Even where time is made material, by express stipulation, the failure of one of the parties to perform a condition within the particular time limited will not in every case defeat his right to specific performance, if the condition be subsequently performed, without unreasonable delay, and no circumstances have intervened that would render it unjust or inequitable to give such relief. ”

“ If judicial proceedings were resorted to, such proceedings would necessarily be slow, and years would pass by, in all probability, before the controversy could be ended. So great a delay in this case is to be avoided if possible. Such delay would be every way inconvenient, and might be the occasion of disturbances and collisions. For the same reason I would, with the utmost deference to the wisdom of Congress, express a doubt of the expediency of the appointment of commissioners, and of an examination, estimate, and an award of indemnity to be made by them. ”

“ An important public policy lies at their foundation. They stimulate to activity and punish negligence. While time is constantly destroying the evidence of rights, they supply its place by a presumption which renders proof unnecessary. Mere delay, extending to the limit prescribed, is itself a conclusive bar. The bane and antidote go together.
The provision in the statute of which the plaintiff seeks to avail himself was originally established in equity, and has since been made applicable in trials at law. ”

“ No government could exist that permitted the collection of its revenues to be delayed by every litigious man or every embarrassed man, to whom delay was more important than the payment of costs.
We think there is no ground for the assertion that a speedy and effective remedy is not provided to enforce the claim set up by the plaintiff. ”

“ For what might be inexcusable delay in one case would not be inconsistent with diligence in another, and unless the nonaction of the complainant operated to damage the defendant, or to induce it to change its position, there is no necessary estoppel arising from the mere lapse of time. ”

“ Traffic tells us that we need more roads and we need to finish them faster. One reason for delay are TROs. I will not interfere with the judiciary, but I urge the supreme court to remind judges of the lawyer's oath to delay no man for money. ”

“ As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, and where necessary to continue to review these questions of fact, law, and policy, consider further delaying, or publishing for notice and comment proposed rules further delaying, such rules beyond the 60-day period. Following the 60-day delay in effective date:
for those rules that raise no substantial questions of fact, law, or policy, no further action needs to be taken ”

“ Solicitors, clients, witnesses, cases that interest the public, causes that concern valuable property, or important contracts must all be put aside till this trifling matter is settled. He is as anxious as any, or more so, to get on, because delay causes business to accumulate—the adjourned causes, of course, having to be heard at next Court, and thus swelling the list to an inordinate length. ”

“ Judge William L. Learned, of the New York State Supreme Court, in a paper on "The Law's Delays," makes an admission of striking significance. He says: "In most things we move more rapidly than former generations did. We travel faster; we send messages across the ocean in a few minutes; we transact business of large amounts in a short time; but when we come to our litigations we find the reproach of the law's delays still existing. ”