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No. 95-2794 

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United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the 

* District of Minnesota.

Mark Robert Dezeler, *

*

Appellant. *

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 Submitted: December 12, 1995

 Filed: April 10, 1996

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Before McMILLIAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and BEAM, Circuit Judges.

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BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Mark Robert Dezeler (Dezeler) appeals the district court's order

denying his motion to dismiss his indictment. Because Dezeler was not

brought to trial within seventy days of his arraignment, as calculated

under the Speedy Trial Act, we reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

This case has reached us because apparently no one has taken the time

to do the mathematical calculation mandated by the Speedy Trial Act.

Police in St. Paul, Minnesota, were in pursuit of a robbery suspect when

an officer heard a gunshot. Following the direction of the shot, the

police officer immediately walked up the driveway of Dezeler's residence.

The officer found Dezeler, who
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was carrying a holster, and arrested him as he was entering his house. The

police discovered a gun loaded with five rounds of ammunition and one spent

round.

Dezeler was charged by a grand jury with one count of possession of

a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). He

made his initial appearance on August 12, 1994, and was arraigned on August

17, 1994, at which time he entered a plea of not guilty. Dezeler made

several pretrial motions on August 31, 1994. The magistrate judge held a

hearing on these motions on September 14, 1994, and took them under

advisement as of that date. In an order signed October 24, 1994, the

magistrate judge resolved the pending issues. On December 12, 1994,

Dezeler's attorney made a motion to withdraw as counsel and the government

made an oral motion for a sixty-day continuance. The district court

granted both motions in an order signed on December 16, 1994.

In January 1995, Dezeler, through his new attorney, made several

motions including a motion to dismiss the indictment for a violation of the

Speedy Trial Act. On February 9, 1995, the district court denied Dezeler's

motion to dismiss. On the same day, Dezeler entered a conditional plea of

guilty, reserving his right to appeal the alleged Speedy Trial Act

violation. The district court sentenced Dezeler to twenty-four months

incarceration and three years supervised release. Dezeler now appeals the

district court's order denying his motion to dismiss the indictment for a

violation of the Speedy Trial Act. 

II. DISCUSSION

Under the Speedy Trial Act (the Act), a federal criminal defendant

must be brought to trial within seventy days of the filing of the

indictment or of arraignment, whichever is later. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1);

see also United States v. Koory, 20 F.3d 844,
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846 (8th Cir. 1994). The Act excludes time spent on certain proceedings

from the calculation. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(d) & (h). In the present case,

even with all proper exclusions, seventy-one days had already elapsed on

December 11, 1994, and Dezeler had still not been brought to trial.

Dezeler argues that because he was not brought to trial within

seventy days of his arraignment, his indictment must be dismissed. Dezeler

contends that the district court miscalculated the seventy-day time period

under the Act. The government concedes that the district court erred in

its determination of the number of excludable days under its speedy trial

analysis, but nevertheless contends that no speedy trial violation

occurred. The government asserts that the defendant's attorney made his

motion to withdraw on what would have been day seventy-one but making the

motion rendered that an excludable day thereby holding the total number of

days at seventy. The government's calculation fails, however, because

Dezeler's attorney made his motion to withdraw on day seventy-two, not day

seventy-one.

Our analysis of the number of days that elapsed under the Act

requires a rather detailed recitation of the procedural history of this

case. Dezeler was arraigned on August 17, 1994. Thus, the speedy trial

calculation begins the next day on August 18, 1994. United States v. Long,

900 F.2d 1270, 1274 (8th Cir. 1990) (citation omitted). Dezeler filed

several motions on August 31, 1994. The magistrate judge held a hearing

on those motions on September 14, 1994. Under the Act, "delay resulting

from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the

conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion"

is excluded from the calculation. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(F); see also

Henderson v. United States, 476 U.S. 321, 326-31 (1986). Thus, the time

from August 31 through September 14 is excluded from the calculation.

Accordingly, thirteen days had elapsed from August 18 through September 14.
 As the government concedes, the district court erred in

1

excluding the entire period from August 31 to October 24.

 Although the government states in its brief that Dezeler's

2

trial was continued from October 24, 1994, until November 28, 1994,

and that trial did not convene on November 28, the government fails

to articulate how these continuances came about. Brief of Appellee

at 1.

 Dezeler did not waive his speedy trial challenge because he 3

made his motion to dismiss on January 30, 1995, and did not enter

his guilty plea until February 9, 1995. Moreover, Dezeler

expressly reserved his right to appeal the denial of his speedy

trial challenge by entering a conditional guilty plea.

The United States relies on United States v. Jones which we

believe to be inapposite for several reasons, including: (1) the

continuance from December 12 to February 9 was not caused by any

misconduct on the part of Dezeler; and (2) we do not count any of

the days during the continuance in our speedy trial calculation. 

23 F.3d 1307, 1310 (8th Cir. 1994) (holding that the defendant

"should not be saved from a waiver that would have been effective

on [the date retrial was to commence], when the reason no retrial

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In addition to conducting a hearing on the motions on September 14,

1994, the magistrate judge took those motions under advisement on that

date. Although the speedy trial calculation recommenced on September 15,

"any period, not to exceed thirty days, during which any proceeding

concerning the defendant is actually under advisement by the court" is

excluded from the calculation. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(J). The magistrate

judge did not sign his order until October 24, 1994, which falls beyond the

statutorily imposed thirty-day maximum. Therefore, the maximum excludable

period of thirty days ended on October 14, 1994.1

During the period from October 15 through December 11, 1994, fiftyeight days elapsed. Neither the parties nor the district court's docket

sheet describe any event during this period that would trigger an exclusion

under the Act. See generally 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h). Therefore, we conclude 2

that as of December 11, 1994, seventy-one days had elapsed--the sum of the

thirteen days in August that had elapsed and the fifty-eight days from

October 15 through December 11--and Dezeler had not yet been brought to

trial. Therefore, the fact that Dezeler's attorney filed a motion 3
took place on that date was because of his own misbehavior [causing

his attorney to withdraw by threatening him]").

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to withdraw on December 12, 1994, day seventy-two, has no effect on our

calculation.

"When a violation of the time limits of the Act is shown to have

occurred, dismissal is mandatory on motion of the defendant." Koory, 20

F.3d at 846 (citations omitted). The Act itself, in relevant part, states:

If a defendant is not brought to trial within the time limit

required by section 3161(c) [70 days] as extended by section

3161(h) [excludable time], the information or indictment shall

be dismissed on motion of the defendant.

18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(2). Because Dezeler was not brought to trial within

the seventy-day period, as calculated under the Act, we must dismiss the

indictment.

Although the Act mandates a dismissal of the indictment, the trial

court retains discretion as to whether the dismissal should be with or

without prejudice. The section of the Act dealing with sanctions provides

guidance and, in relevant part, states:

In determining whether to dismiss the case with or without

prejudice, the court shall consider, among others, each of the

following factors: the seriousness of the offense; the facts

and circumstances of the case which led to the dismissal; and

the impact of a reprosecution on the administration of this

chapter and on the administration of justice.
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18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(1). Therefore, on remand the district court must

consider these factors in determining whether to dismiss Dezeler's

indictment with or without prejudice.

III. CONCLUSION

For the reasons discussed above, we reverse the district court's

order denying Dezeler's motion to dismiss the indictment. We remand the

case to the district court for an order dismissing the indictment and for

a determination whether the indictment should be dismissed with or without

prejudice.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.