Opinion ID: 1509677
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Tarvis's Appeal

Text: After the state rested its case, Tarvis moved for judgments of acquittal on charges that he assaulted various people with dangerous weapons and murdered Mary Wendolowski. The trial justice granted the motion only in respect to the two counts that charged Tarvis with assaulting Deborah Pierro's sister and brother-in-law. He granted the motion that addressed the charge that Tarvis assaulted Gail Ottiano with an intent to murder her, but only to the extent of reducing the charge to assault with a dangerous weapon. After the defense rested without presenting any evidence, Tarvis renewed his motions. The trial justice, however, again denied the motion; the jury convicted Tarvis on all charges that were submitted to it, and Tarvis moved for a new trial on these charges. This request was denied and on appeal Tarvis challenges the trial justice's denial of his motions for judgments of acquittal and for a new trial. We are of the opinion that the trial justice properly denied Tarvis's motions for judgments of acquittal. As our recital of the facts indicates, when viewing the state's evidence in the light most favorable to the state, drawing all reasonable inferences consistent with guilt, and not considering witness credibility or evidentiary weight, the trial justice could properly determine that the evidence was sufficient to submit the case to the jury on all charges against Tarvis. See, e.g., State v. Lillibridge, R.I., 454 A.2d 237, 239 (1982); State v. Dionne, R.I., 442 A.2d 876, 883 (1982). There was overwhelming evidence that Tarvis did more than sit idly by while Porraro committed the assaults and the murder and that Tarvis shared in Porraro's criminal intent. The trial justice, therefore, was correct in allowing the jury to decide whether or not Tarvis aided and abetted Porraro's criminal activity. Similarly, we find that the trial justice was correct in denying Tarvis's motion for a new trial. As we recently held in State v. Romano, supra , the standard that the trial justice applies when addressing a new-trial motion is much different from the standard applied to an acquittal motion. Specifically, the trial justice considers all the evidence, weighs it, takes into account the credibility of witnesses, and considers the evidence in light of the charge given to the jury. Romano, 456 A.2d at 762. The trial justice should articulate the facts upon which he or she granted or denied the motion for a new trial, and this court will not disturb the ruling unless the trial justice misconceived material evidence or was otherwise clearly wrong. Id. Our review of the record reveals that the trial justice in this case scrupulously applied the oft-stated standard in denying Tarvis's motion for a new trial. He thoroughly reviewed the important evidence and articulated his belief in the credibility of the state's key witnesses. Moreover, we do not believe that the trial justice misconceived any material evidence or was in any way clearly wrong. Accordingly, we hold that the trial justice's denial of a motion for a new trial was correct in respect to every offense of which the jury found Tarvis guilty.
A grand jury secretly indicted Tarvis on December 5, 1980, and he was arraigned on December 12, 1980. The trial did not begin until September 23, 1981. At that time the trial justice denied defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment for the lack of a speedy trial in violation of the State and Federal Constitutions. On appeal, defendant urges us to apply the four-part test of Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), as implemented by this court in Tate v. Howard, 110 R.I. 641, 296 A.2d 19 (1972), and hold that the delay in the start of his trial deprived defendant of his constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial. The factors of the Barker test consist of (1) length of the delay, (2) reasons for the delay, (3) assertion of the right to a speedy trial, and (4) prejudice to the accused caused by the delay, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192, 33 L.Ed.2d at 117. We shall consider each element separately.
The defendant asserts that the length of the delay should be measured from November 19, 1980. According to defendant a felony complaint was filed against him on that date. The record indicates only that a grand jury subsequently indicted defendant secretly and that he was arraigned several days after the indictment issued. In State v. Roddy, R.I., 401 A.2d 23, 30 n. 4 (1979), we held that [t]he `arrest' or `accusatory stage' constitutes the starting point for determining whether a defendant has been denied the right to a speedy trial. In this case, it might be contended that the date of the felony complaint was the date upon which the adversary judicial proceeding was commenced. See Dillingham v. United States, 423 U.S. 64, 65, 96 S.Ct. 303, 303-04, 46 L.Ed.2d 205, 207 (1975). It might also be argued that the accusatory stage in the proceedings against defendant did not commence until his arraignment in light of the secrecy of the indictment. See State v. Crescenzo, 118 R.I., 662, 669, 375 A.2d 933, 937 (1977). In any event, we shall assume without deciding that the date of the complaint is the time from which the pretrial delay should be measured because the period between the complaint and indictment and the indictment and arraignment respectively was very short. Under this assumption the length of the delay in this case amounted to approximately ten months. This is probably the shortest period that has ever been asserted to this court in support of a claim of deprivation of speedy trial based upon the guarantees of the United States and Rhode Island Constitutions. The seminal case respecting the speedy trial analysis under the Sixth Amendment was Barker v. Wingo, supra . That case involved a delay of approximately five years from the date of indictment to the end of trial (September 15, 1958, to October 9, 1963). In Tate v. Howard, supra , the length of delay measured from the time of arrest was approximately twenty months. In State v. Roddy, supra , the length of delay measured from the time of arrest was nearly thirty-four months. Obviously, the length of delay in this case is insufficient, in and of itself, to justify dismissal of the indictment. In State v. Fortier, R.I., 427 A.2d 1317 (1981), the length of delay measured from the indictment was more than eighteen months. Indeed, in State v. Anthony, R.I., 448 A.2d 744, 749 (1982), we found that a thirty-two-month delay did not establish a per se violation of the defendant's right to a speedy trial. In that case we held that the delay was presumptively prejudicial, thereby triggering the necessity of inquiring into the other three factors. In the case at bar, it is highly questionable whether the length of the delay is sufficient to require this court to address the other three factors set forth in Barker v. Wingo, supra . In State v. Palmigiano, 112 R.I. 348, 309 A.2d 855 (1973), we applied the four-part test even though the delay between the time the defendant filed his motion for a speedy trial and the trial's start was only eleven months. The Palmigiano court, however, did not have the benefit of the accusatory stage standard for measuring the time period of a pretrial delay, as set forth in State v. Roddy, supra . If the court had applied this standard to the facts in Palmigiano, the court would have calculated a delay of approximately thirteen months because the motion for a speedy trial was filed well after the first accusatory proceeding, namely, the indictment. Nevertheless, we shall, for the purposes of this appeal, accept the Palmigiano court's computation of the length of delay as eleven months. At the same time, the fact that the Palmigiano decision preceded Roddy compels us to hold that the eleven-month standard that defendant argues Palmigiano established is now of questionable value. We are of the opinion that the delay of approximately ten months in this case may be less than the minimal period needed for triggering a full-scale Barker v. Wingo analysis. Although we shall address the other three factors, we caution the bar that in a future case we may draw the line regarding presumptively prejudicial delay at twelve months in the absence of special circumstances. Although it is the announced policy of this court that felony trials should take place within six months of the indictment, such policy should not be construed as indicating that a failure to meet that goal in a particular case amounts to a denial of the right to a speedy trial guaranteed by art. I, sec. 10, of the Constitution of Rhode Island and the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The trial was first delayed on March 16, 1981, because the prosecutor had failed to supply grand jury tapes to defendant. During the summer of 1981 the trial was delayed twice, once because a key prosecution witness was on vacation and again because the prosecutor in the case was trying another case. These delays were all of the sort that commonly occur in criminal trials. Although the prosecution may have had some control over the grand jury tapes, the vacation decision of a witness who was a physician not under the direct control of the prosecutor could not be ascribed to the fault of the assistant attorney general to whom the case had been assigned. It should also be noted that the physician went on vacation during the month of August at a time when vacations are scarcely unusual. Further, part of the delay was due to conflicting assignments in other criminal trials by the attorney to whom the prosecution had been assigned in this case. A further delay was encountered when, after the empaneling of a jury on September 23, 1981, one of the jurors was discovered not to understand the English language. All of the foregoing elements might be described as natural factors often encountered on the criminal-trial calendar and, for all practical purposes, are beyond the control of the prosecution. The ten-month delay was in no way caused by bad faith on the part of the state.
No discussion of this factor is necessary because defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on speedy-trial grounds soon after he was arraigned.
The defendant asserts that the death of one of the potential witnesses during the period in which the start of the trial was delayed prejudiced his defense. This person was William E. Cavanaugh, who witnessed the fight between Porraro and Jody at the Bonefero Club on November 18, 1980. Counsel suggested that Mr. Cavanaugh, if alive, would have testified that defendant Tarvis did not take part on anyone's side in this violent alteration. Counsel for the state also asserted that Mr. Cavanaugh would have been called as a witness by the state. In any event, none of the state's witnesses claimed that defendant Tarvis took part in the fight at the Bonefero Club. Any formation of intent by Tarvis, to which state's witnesses testified, related to events that occurred after the fight had concluded. Mr. Cavanaugh could have been of no assistance either to the state or to defendant Tarvis on this issue. We are therefore of the opinion that no prejudice resulted to defendant from the asserted delay in general and from the death of Mr. Cavanaugh in particular. Each of the four factors in the Barker v. Wingo test must be balanced against the others and assessed as a whole. State v. Anthony, 448 A.2d at 751-52. We have determined that the length of the delay, approximately ten months, at best minimally favors defendant's claimed deprivation of his right to a speedy trial. In addition, we have found that the state's failure to turn over grand jury tapes and defendant's timely assertion of his right to a speedy trial weigh in his favor. On the other hand, none of the other causes of the delay could be attributed to the state. There was no evidence of bad faith on the part of the state, and the death of one of the state's witnesses did not prejudice defendant. On balance, therefore, we conclude that Tarvis's constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial has not been abridged.
The defendant's contention that the cumulation of errors deprived him of his right to a fair trial and due process has no merit because we have determined, point for point, that all of Tarvis's assertions of error are unpersuasive.