What is the effect of the writ of habeas corpus on an accused's physical liberty?

112. Protection of the accused's physical liberty is, as the writ of habeas corpus illustrates, the most fundamental and widely recognized aspect of the right to trial within a reasonable time. Impairment of this interest, however, does not cease with the release of the accused on bail, as habeas corpus might imply. Bail conditions frequently involve restrictions on freedom of movement, and as the United States Supreme Court has noted, a speedy trial guarantee must seek "to reduce the lesser, but nevertheless substantial, impairment of liberty imposed on an accused while released on bail": United States v. MacDonald, 456 U.S. 1 (1982), at p. 8. Any assessment of the effect of delay on an accused's liberty, therefore, must have regard not only to imprisonment but to any conditions attached to release.

113. Protection of the accused's security, another interest secured by the right to a speedy trial, focuses on the psychological rather than the physical burdens of a pending trial. Since psychological pressures are inherently difficult to establish objectively, however, the parameters of an accused's security interest are inherently elusive, whether viewed in the abstract or in the context of the accused's own situation. However, it is reasonable to infer that the pendency of a criminal trial creates anxiety and concern in any accused, whether or not he or she has ever been charged or convicted before. In addition, as Warren C.J. noted in Klopfer v. North Carolina, supra, at p. 222, a pending trial "may subject [an accused] to public scorn . . . and almost certainly will force curtailment of his speech, associations and participation in unpopular causes". It often limits employment and educational opportunities as well and, as Amsterdam puts it, it ultimately restricts "the liberty to go one's own way owing nobody nothing" (supra, at p. 533).