... a measure of trust. I _am_ willing to assume that they are professionals, that they are after the truth, not just some scapegoats. 2 weeks, 2 months, even half a year - reasonable time. Anything beyond that, and investigation turns into unjust punishement. Somewhere between 2 and 6 months the public's attitude will change.
Btw, here are rules with regard to material witnesses from Washington State Court (could not find federal rules).
[link|http://www.courts.wa.gov/rules/list.cfm?group=sup|http://www.courts.w...fm?group=sup]&set=CrR
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RULE 4.10
MATERIAL WITNESS
(a) Warrant. On motion of the prosecuting attorney or the defendant,
the court may issue a warrant, subject to reasonable bail, for the arrest
of a material witness. The warrant shall issue only on a showing, by
affidavit or on the record in open court, that the testimony of the witness
is material and that
(1) The witness has refused to submit to a deposition ordered by the
court pursuant to rule 4.6; or
(2) The witness has refused to obey a lawfully issued subpoena; or
(3) It may become impracticable to secure the presence of the witness
by subpoena.
Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the warrant shall be executed
and returned as in rule 2.2.
(b) Hearing. After the arrest of the witness, the court shall hold a
hearing no later than the next judicial day after the witness is present in
the county from which the warrant issued. The witness shall be entitled to
be represented by a lawyer. The court shall appoint a lawyer for an
indigent witness if it is required to protect the rights of the witness.
(c) Release/Detention. Upon a determination that the testimony of the
witness is material and that one of the conditions set forth in section (a)
exists, the court shall set conditions for release of the witness pursuant
to rule 3.2. A material witness shall be released unless the court
determines that the testimony of such witness cannot be secured adequately
by deposition and that further detention is necessary to prevent a failure
of justice. Release of a material witness may be delayed for a reasonable
period of time until the deposition of the witness can be taken pursuant to
rule 4.6.
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Looks like there are some checks and balances here.
But I digress... I'll have to repeat myself. Any due process you get in cases such as that is a pleasant surprise. When the country is at war, you rely on Army's professionalism to avoid civilian casualties, and you rely on law enforcement professionalism to avoid unjustly convicted. You monitor both using free press, but that's about the best you can do. If we have bad generals and bad cops, the country is, basically, screwed. I am yet to see any evidence that they are particularly bad.