Opinion ID: 1236325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: S00A1044 Timothy Allison v. The State.

Text: An arrest warrant issued for Timothy Allison in September 1997, and he was indicted in January 1998. However, he was not arrested and incarcerated until June 1998. He was re-indicted in March 1999, and released on bond at that time. In June 1999 he filed a motion joining Michael Jackson's out-of-time motion for a speedy trial pursuant to OCGA § 17-7-170. [17] Conceding that the 15 months between arrest and the date of trial are presumptively prejudicial, [18] the state argues that Allison has failed to demonstrate his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial had been denied. We agree. The reasons for the delay are the same urged in Michael Jackson's case, and, on balance, are weighted against the state. Even were we to assume that the demand for trial pursuant to OCGA § 17-7-170 asserted a Sixth Amendment right, Allison did not join in it until ten months after it had been filed, and a year after he had been arrested. This delay is weighted against him. [19] Allison's bare claims of anxiety due to prison over-crowding and separation from family, which are always present to some extent, [20] fall short of establishing prejudice sufficient to satisfy the Sixth Amendment. Finally, his claim that his alibi defense may be prejudiced by the delay is belied by the record: at a January 1999 bond hearing Allison presented alibi testimony of two witnesses as to his whereabouts at the time of the murder. Balancing the Barker factors, we conclude that the trial court correctly denied Allison's motion to dismiss.