Well... that was bad, but it was bad for different reasons. Mitnick himself waived his right to a speedy trial. The government swamped him and his court in so much shit that he'd have a difficult time preparing a proper defense otherwise.

The flipside for Snowden is that at least it will count as time served so if he gets sentenced to more than 2 years it might actually be beneficial as I'd imagine you get to meet with your lawyers more often while prepping for trial.

This, the US gov't has plenty of backdoors and sleazy dealings to circumvent a speedy trial by ones peers. It is why most criminal sentences aren't heard by juries, because the system is rigged and intentionally bullies the accused into taking plea bargains.