Opinion ID: 751894
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Were Sehorn's speedy trial rights violated?

Text: 68 Appellant Sehorn argues that his speedy trial rights were violated. The Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-3174, requires that a defendant's trial commence within 70 days from the later of the filing of an indictment or his first appearance, barring excludable time. United States v. George, 85 F.3d 1433, 1436 (9th Cir.1996). The district court rejected Sehorn's claim of a Speedy Trial Act violation, finding that there was no violation once excludable time was taken into account. 69 A district court's application of the Speedy Trial Act is reviewed de novo. Id. at 1436. The court's factual findings under the Speedy Trial Act are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Contreras, 63 F.3d 852, 855 (9th Cir.1995) (citation omitted). The court's finding of an ends of justice exception also will be reversed only if there is clear error. United States v. Paschall, 988 F.2d 972, 974 (9th Cir.1993) (citation omitted). 70 Appellant Sehorn recognizes that there are a number of exceptions to the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day requirement. Section 3161(h) excludes certain periods from the 70-day calculation, including delay from any pretrial motion, delay when the defendant is joined for trial with a codefendant, and delay resulting from a continuance granted by the judge upon a finding that the best interests of the public would be served. One of the factors that a judge may take into account for such a finding is the complexity of the case. See § 3161(h)(8)(B). 71 It is uncontroverted that all appellants filed numerous pretrial motions. Sehorn filed pretrial motions twelve days after his initial appearance. Lott's attorney also represented that all appellants seemed willing to waive their speedy trial rights because the case was complex. Later, while the pretrial motions were still pending, the district court made a specific finding that the case was complex and would thus be continued. All appellants except for Sehorn declared that they needed a continuance in order to be prepared for trial. 72 Sehorn argues on appeal that to the extent that the speedy trial period was tolled based on the motions of his codefendants, the Speedy Trial Act is unconstitutional. However, the one case that Sehorn cites says just the opposite: that while there may be some situations in which tolling the speedy trial clock due to a codefendant's actions may violate another defendant's Sixth Amendment right ... this does not render the Speedy Trial Act unconstitutional as a matter of law. United States v. Baker, 63 F.3d 1478, 1497 (9th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1097, 116 S.Ct. 824, 133 L.Ed.2d 767 (1996). 73 Furthermore, as Baker makes clear, a Sixth Amendment speedy trial claim is assessed by considering a combination of factors, including: (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) whether the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial; and (4) the prejudice to the defendant. Id. (citation omitted). As in Baker, Sehorn does not demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the delay. Thus, the district court properly interpreted the Speedy Trial Act and did not abuse its discretion in finding that the case was complex. 74