6th Amendment-Failure to Prosecute

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Seth K. Pinter

Case No.: 2025AP001074-CR

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz, and Gill, JJ.

Focus: 6^th Amendment-Failure to Prosecute

Pinter was charged with sexual assault in August 2023. The case was delayed largely because a sexual assault evidence kit (SANE kit) was not promptly sent to the state crime lab for DNA testing due to a clerical error and miscommunication between law enforcement and prosecutors. The circuit court dismissed the charges without prejudice in April 2025, finding that the lengthy delay created presumptive prejudice.

The Court of Appeals found that the dismissal was erroneous. Applying the four-factor test from Barker v. Wingo, the court concluded that although the approximately 20-month period between charging and dismissal was long enough to trigger review, most of that time involved ordinary pretrial proceedings and was not considered delay. Only about six months of delay were attributable to the State’s negligence in handling the DNA evidence, and that negligence was not deliberate or in bad faith.

The court also found that Pinter did not assert his speedy-trial rights until he moved to dismiss in February 2025, roughly 18 months after charges were filed. Further, he failed to show actual prejudice: He was not incarcerated pending trial, did not demonstrate impairment of his defense, and showed no unusual anxiety beyond that normally associated with criminal charges.

The court rejected Pinter’s alternative argument that the case should remain dismissed for failure to prosecute, and remanded the case with instructions to reinstate the criminal proceedings.

Reversed and Remanded.

Decided 06/16/26

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