Opinion ID: 1997831
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Claim of a Speedy Trial Violation

Text: Appellant Barnes claims that he was denied a speedy trial in contravention of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Arrested in late January, 1990, and indicted that April, Barnes was scheduled to be tried on November 26, 1990. On November 14, 1990, the government obtained a superseding indictment charging Barnes and Taper with the robbery of Lawson while armed with a pistol and charging all the defendants with conspiracy, not charged on the original indictment. Appellant Barnes moved to sever the conspiracy count and to proceed to trial as originally scheduled; that request was denied and the trial on all charges was continued to May 13, 1991. In addition to moving to dismiss for speedy trial violations when the case was continued in November, 1990, Barnes twice again raised his speedy trial claim in writing to the court before February of 1991. The United States Supreme Court has identified four factors to evaluate a speedy trial claim: the length of the delay, the reasons for the delay, whether the appellant asserted his right unambiguously, and whether any prejudice arose as a result of an unreasonably lengthy delay. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2191-92, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972); Gayden v. United States, 584 A.2d 578, 583 (D.C.1990). Although a delay of more than a year creates a presumption of unreasonableness, the complexity of a case may tend to justify an otherwise excessive delay. Gayden, supra, 584 A.2d at 583. Delays are attributed to the parties causing them, and delays attributable to the government are classified as being of neutral or significant importance, depending on how justifiable they were. Graves v. United States, 490 A.2d 1086, 1092 (D.C. 1984) (en banc), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1064, 106 S.Ct. 814, 88 L.Ed.2d 788 (1986). The initial delay in bringing the matter to its first trial date of November 26, 1990, while attributable to the government, must be deemed neutral as it was caused by court congestion, defense discovery, research, and investigation, as well as the difficulties in coordinating the trial schedules of at least five attorneys and that of the court. The second delay, between the return of the new indictment, on November 14, 1990, and the eventual trial date of May 13, 1991, however, can be counted more heavily against the government. The government could have sought either to include the conspiracy and other added counts to the original indictment, or to obtain a superseding indictment substantially sooner than twelve days before trial. [4] The government offers no refutation of Barnes's claim that all the government's witnesses, as well as the underlying conspiracy theory, were available to the grand jury at the time of the first indictment. We are compelled to deny Barnes's speedy trial claim for at least three reasons. First, the case was complex and involved substantial complicated, and novel evidentially problems, as demonstrated by almost twenty pretrial motions that were filed by the various parties. The entire pretrial period was fifteen-and-a-half months, a delay that especially in a five-codefendant conspiracy case does not generally cross into unconstitutional territory. See Gayden, supra, 584 A.2d at 583; Cates v. United States, 379 A.2d 968, 970 (D.C.1977). Second, notwithstanding that the delay was to varying degrees attributable to the government, the fact remains that Barnes went to trial on the very second date set for that purpose. See Trible v. United States, 47 A.2d 766, 768 (D.C. 1982) (requiring more than mere delay). Although the second trial date followed the first by several months, there is no indication that Barnes ever requested an earlier date once his motion to sever the conspiracy count on the original trial date was denied. Third, Barnes has not met the prejudice component of the Barker v. Wingo four-part analysis. Although this court has recognized that pretrial anxiety may constitute a form of prejudice, as are the effects of pretrial incarceration, appellant Barnes suffered from both anxiety and the effects of incarceration already as a result of other offenses for which he either awaited sentencing or had already been sentence. Gaffney v. United States, 421 A.2d 924, 929 (D.C.1980) (noting that simultaneously serving other sentences tends to minimize prejudice arising from pretrial incarceration); Turner v. United States, 622 A.2d 667, 679 (D.C.1993) (observing that prior contact with criminal justice system minimizes impact of pretrial anxiety and concern). Barnes's final claim, that due to the delay, he was denied the availability as a witness of Brown, a putative coconspirator who was on the lam at the time of the May 1991, trial, is made without any concomitant claim proof that Brown's testimony would have tended to exculpate Barnes of the charged offense, or that Brown would have been available on any earlier trial date. Thus, we find no violation of Barnes's Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.