Opinion ID: 2975532
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: May 27 to August 2, 2003 (2 months, 6 days)

Text: The Government claims that once Williams failed to appear for sentencing on an unrelated charge in Michigan state court and a state court bench warrant was issued on May 27, 2003, he became an “official, active fugitive from justice.” (Gov’t Br. at 9.) Therefore, the Government asserts, the delay in this matter from May 27 until August 2, 2003, when Williams was arrested by local police in Michigan, is not attributable to the Government. In his brief, Williams alleges that “[h]e did not attempt to evade prosecution,” but he neglects to mention this 12 period of time in which he failed to respond to the state bench warrant. (Williams’s Br. at 10.) Williams might be referring to the lack of evidence that he evaded federal prosecution, but he certainly evaded state prosecution during this period of time. At oral argument, counsel for Williams forthrightly conceded that the two months during which Williams was a fugitive should not count against the Government. While the Government relies on Williams’s fugitive status, it does not represent that it made any efforts to locate or arrest Williams during this time. Still, “a defendant who evades prosecution is culpable in causing the delay.” Brown, 169 F.3d at 349 (discussing defendant who evaded federal prosecution). Here, the Government proffered evidence that Williams evaded prosecution in state court for over two months by not responding to the bench warrant, and Williams has not contested this assertion below or on appeal. As noted, Williams was not actively evading federal prosecution, as he presumably was unaware of the still-sealed federal Indictment against him, but it defies logic to hold the Government responsible for delay while Williams was a fugitive from justice, whether he was a fugitive from federal or state authorities. This delay due to Williams’s fugitive status was justified and does not weigh against the Government. 3. August 2, 2003 to November 13, 2003 (3 months, 11 days) From Williams’s arrest in Michigan on August 2, 2003, to his final sentencing by the Michigan state court on November 13, 2003, the Michigan authorities were resolving various unrelated drug charges filed against Williams. The Government properly argues that “[t]he federal government’s patience in allowing the State . . . to finish prosecuting [the defendant] is a valid reason for delay that weighs in favor of the government.” (Gov’t Br. at 10 (quoting 13 Schreane, 331 F.3d at 554-55).) As this Court reiterated in Watford, principles of comity customarily observed by the Federal Government when interacting with a custodial sovereign “dictate that respect be accorded to a custodial sovereign’s prerogative ‘to resolve its criminal proceedings before relinquishing custody to another jurisdiction.’” Watford, 468 F.3d at 903 (quoting Schreane, 331 F.3d at 555). The delay while Michigan resolved its prosecution of Williams in multiple cases was justified and weighs in favor of the Government. 4. November 13, 2003 to June 7, 2004 (6 months, 24 days) The Government concedes that the delay between Williams’s last state sentencing and the Government’s filing of its first petition for a writ to obtain Williams’s appearance in federal court is “delay attributable to the government.” (Gov’t Br. at 10.) Judge Friedman criticized this nearly 7-month period of delay, and the Government offers no justification for its negligence during this period. (Gov’t Br. at 10 (“While federal authorities believed that the State would contact them when they were finished prosecuting the defendant, it was negligent not to ascertain the status of the defendant’s state court cases.”).) MDOC records reflect that MDOC sent an inquiry regarding the federal prosecution on October 29, 2003, but the letter apparently was never received by the United States Marshal or any other federal law enforcement body. The Government does not attempt to blame state officials for this lapse. This unjustified period of delay weighs against the Government. However, because there is no evidence of bad faith on behalf of the Government with respect to this negligent delay, this delay does not weigh heavily against the Government. 5. June 7, 2004 to July 21, 2004 (1 month, 14 days) The Government advances that the delay of approximately one-and-one-half months from 14 the time of the Government’s filing of its first petition for a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum to the date of Williams’s arraignment was “the usual and customary time that would be required to obtain the defendant’s presence from State custody.” (Gov’t Br. at 11.) We find that once the Government filed its initial motion to produce Williams, it acted with “customary promptness,” Doggett, 505 U.S. at 652, especially in light of the delays inherent in locating a defendant and transporting a defendant from state to federal custody. 6. Summary The Government contends that the “actual delay” attributable to it is less slightly less than seven months and comprises only the unjustified delay between November 13, 2003 and June 7, 2004. We add approximately one month to this period of delay attributable to the Government, based on a portion of the initial post-sealed Indictment delay. The precise length of the total “actual delay” is not crucial; what is important is that of the seventeen-month delay between sealed Indictment and arraignment, at most approximately eight months are attributable to the Government. This eight-month delay, because it was at most negligent and did not stem from any bad faith, weighs against the Government but not heavily so. The remaining overall delay of nine months weighs in favor of the Government as it was justified by valid reasons. C. Whether Williams asserted his Sixth Amendment right Williams first filed his motion to dismiss the Indictment based on a violation of his speedy trial right on August 8, 2005, over a year after his arraignment in July 2004. The Government argues that Williams did not assert his speedy trial right at any time before the filing of the motion to dismiss, as no request by the defendant to appear on the federal charges may be 15 found in any state or federal files. Former counsel for Williams contended before the District Court that the mysteriously missing letter from MDOC to the United States Marshal, sent in October 2003, was sent “with the approval and request of Mr. Williams.” (J.A. 75, Tr. 9/7/05 at 75.) Yet no formal record of Williams’s request appears in the files, and no evidence has been presented on appeal to support this assertion. The pending federal arrest warrant was mentioned in Williams’s state presentencing report for his November 2003 sentencing, thus notifying both Michigan authorities and Williams of its existence of the federal matter. The Indictment was unsealed in October 2003, but again no evidence suggests that Williams himself asserted his speedy trial right until he filed his motion to dismiss. Moreover, as the Government observes, Williams’s “behavior after his initial appearance in federal court, including seeking the appointment of new counsel on the eve of a scheduled trial date and stipulating to adjournments while the case was pending for an additional 16 months, does not suggest a particularly vigorous assertion of his speedy trial rights.” (Gov’t Br. at 11-12.) Williams’s conclusory assertion in his brief that he “made attempts to exercise his right to a speedy trial” lacks support. He offers no explanation for his own delay in formally asserting his Sixth Amendment right for over a year following his arraignment. Therefore, we conclude that Williams’s delay in asserting his speedy trial right weighs against him and in favor of the Government. Watford, 468 F.3d at 907 (finding that five-month delay in asserting speedy trial right weighed against defendant); United States v. Thomas, 167 F.3d 299, 305 (6th Cir. 1999) (“A defendant’s failure to assert his rights in a timely fashion weighs heavily against his Sixth Amendment claim.”). 16 D. Prejudice to Williams In considering the final Barker prong – prejudice to Williams from the pre-arraignment delay – “we must heed the Supreme Court’s instruction to consider the possible prejudice suffered by the defendant in light of the interests safeguarded by the Sixth Amendment’s speedy trial guarantee.” Watford, 468 F.3d at 907 (citations omitted). “Three interests are paramount: (i) preventing oppressive pretrial incarceration; (ii) minimizing the anxiety and concern of the accused; and (iii) limiting the possibility that the defense will be impaired.” Id. (citations omitted). The third factor, impairment of the defense, is the most important “‘because the inability of a defendant adequately to prepare his case skews the fairness of the entire system.’” Id. (quoting Barker, 407 U.S. at 532 and Schreane, 331 F.3d at 557-58). The District Court primarily relied on the prejudice factor to reject Williams’s speedy trial claim. Before the District Court, Williams argued that he was prejudiced in that if his federal prosecution had been resolved sooner, he might have received more favorable placement and treatment within the Michigan state correctional system. Judge Friedman rejected this theory of actual prejudice, and Williams does not raise this theory on appeal. Rather, Williams chiefly argues that the total delay here of 17 months was so extraordinary that prejudice should be presumed and Williams should not be required to show actual prejudice. Generally, only a truly extraordinary delay, often stemming from bad faith on behalf of the Government, is sufficient to entitle a defendant to relief absent a showing of actual prejudice. See Jackson, 473 F.3d at 667-68 (discussing cases from Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit where thirteen and one half-month, three-year, and five-year delays did not give rise to a presumption of prejudice). The classic case where such a presumption of prejudice arose is 17 Doggett, where the Supreme Court held that an eight and one half-year delay warranted a finding of prejudice without any actual showing. Doggett, 505 U.S. at 657-58. This Court in Jackson concluded that “neither a ten- nor a twenty-month delay is extraordinary under our precedents” and therefore defendant had to show some actual prejudice. Jackson, 473 F.3d at 668. The same reasoning applies here. Whether considering the 17-month total delay or the approximately eight-month actual delay, neither delay rises to such an extraordinary level that Williams is excused from showing actual prejudice. This Court has held, as Williams urges, that “when the government’s negligence caused the delay, the need to prove prejudice diminishes as the delay increases,” Brown, 169 F.3d at 350-51. Yet the delay here was not so lengthy that Williams is excused from presenting any evidence of prejudice. Furthermore, Williams’s contention that the Government’s actions (or lack thereof) constituted “gross negligence, and could be considered the equivalent of bad faith” (Williams’s Br. at 13-14) lacks merit. A significant portion of the delay here was justified, and no evidence suggests that the approximately eight-month unjustified delay stems from bad faith or even “gross” negligence. With regard to actual prejudice, Williams does not point to any evidence of prejudice relating to the “paramount interests” of the Sixth Amendment. He fails to argue that he suffered any oppressive pretrial incarceration. Because he was properly incarcerated in Michigan state prison serving his state sentences during most of the period of delay about which he complains, he clearly cannot claim any oppressive pretrial incarceration resulting from the federal delay. See Watford, 468 F.3d at 907 (“[B]ecause Watford was already incarcerated on state murder charges, he had suffered no oppressive pretrial incarceration at the hands of federal authorities.”). Williams was in the custody of Michigan state authorities for 11 months of the 17-month delay, 18 from his August 2003 state arrest until the end of the delay upon his arraignment in July 2004. He simply cannot be heard to complain of any prejudice due to imprisonment resulting from the federal delay. Relatedly, Williams does not argue that he suffered any anxiety or concern during his pretrial delay, and even if he had, any such anxiety or concern stemmed from his state incarceration rather than the pending federal charges. Id. Finally, Williams presents no evidence or argument that his defense was impaired by the delay. This absence of prejudice to his defense severely undermines his claim. The Government notes that the delay did not affect Williams’s ability to defend himself, as “numerous wiretap conversations of the defendant were recorded,” cooperating witnesses were prepared to testify against Williams, and “evidence seized under a search warrant from the defendant’s residence was part of the proofs.” (Gov’t Br. at 13 n.6.) While these examples offered by the Government comprise the substantial evidence against Williams and are not part of Williams’s defense, the continued existence of the testimonial and physical evidence relevant to this case supports the notion that there was no loss of evidence that would have hampered Williams’s defense.7 Williams’s failure to present any evidence whatsoever of prejudice from the delay weighs heavily against him and in favor of the Government. E. Summary 7 Williams appears to base his prejudice argument, such as it is, on the delay between the date of his offenses, in 1999-2000, and his Indictment and eventual arraignment. However, as the Government states, the Sixth Amendment does not address pre-indictment delay. Rather, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment covers such a claim. See, e.g., United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 324 (1971). Williams has never raised a due process challenge to his prosecution, does not bring any due process claim on appeal, and makes no more than passing reference to pre-indictment delay in his appellate brief. 19 None of the Barker factors weigh heavily in favor of Williams. The length of the delay was long enough to trigger further judicial inquiry, but the approximately 17-month delay was not nearly as extreme as in other cases in which courts have found a violation of the speedy trial right. The other three Barker factors all weigh against Williams and in favor of the Government. The Government was rightly criticized by the District Court for its negligent delay, but of the total 17-month delay, only approximately eight months may be fairly attributed to the Government, and no evidence suggests that the Government delayed this case in bad faith. Williams failed to assert his Sixth Amendment right until nearly a year after his arraignment, and no evidence beyond former counsel’s bald statement supports any earlier assertion of the speedy trial right. Finally, and quite importantly, Williams has not shown any actual prejudice from the delay, and the delay was not so extraordinarily long that prejudice may be presumed with regard to this final factor. In balancing the Barker factors, this Court concludes that the pre-arraignment delay did not deprive Williams of his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial, and that the District Court did not err in denying Williams’s motion to dismiss the Indictment for violation of the speedy trial right. III. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, this Court AFFIRMS the judgment of conviction and sentence in this matter. 20