What is the legal test for determining whether a defendant is responsible for delay due to a congested docket?

The asserted reason for the delay, a congested docket, is a lesser evil than delay from deliberate prosecutorial choice. However, all delay not caused by the defendant remains the government's responsibility. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. at 531, 92 S.Ct. 2182. A state government's allocation of resources plays a major role in creating congested dockets, and it is unfair to require defendants to bear the entire burden that results from the government's fiscal decisions. There must be a point at which delay due to a congested docket becomes so unacceptable that by itself it violates the right to a speedy trial. That point comes sooner when a defendant is incarcerated awaiting trial. ¹