Opinion ID: 1860859
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the trial court erred in denying stevens's motion to dismiss for failure to grant a speedy trial.

Text: ¶ 12. Stevens argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for violation of his constitutional right to a speedy trial as secured by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Art. 3, § 26 of the Mississippi Constitution. Stevens points to the fact that the mandate from Stevens I, reversing his original conviction and remanding for a new trial, was issued on August 17, 1998, and that his retrial did not commence until September 7, 1999 some 386 days later. ¶ 13. Stevens filed a demand for speedy trial on December 18, 1998, and he filed a motion to dismiss for failure to grant a speedy trial on July 2, 1999. On July 6, 1999, the day originally set for trial, the trial court conducted a hearing on the motion to dismiss. In denying Stevens's motion, the trial judge stated that any delay was caused by the fact that he had been involved in trials from February 16, 1999, through June 23, 1999, and that there was no evidence that the State sought to gain any tactical advantage by the delay. The trial judge found that the delay was not unreasonable and also noted that Stevens was incarcerated through November 5, 1998, on the sentence for aggravated assault. ¶ 14. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-17-1 (2000) requires that an accused be brought to trial within 270 days of his indictment unless there is good cause for a delay. However, the 270-day rule does not apply to retrials; therefore, Stevens is relegated to the constitutional speedy trial standards. See Mitchell v. State, 572 So.2d 865, 870 (Miss.1990) (citing Kinzey v. State, 498 So.2d 814 (Miss.1986)). ¶ 15. Stevens argues that Mitchell and Kinzey do not apply because neither involved a defendant who was reindicted prior to the second trial. However, Stevens also refuses to accept technical application of the 270-day rule in the event that Mitchell and Kinzey do not apply, presumably because application of the 270-day rule in this case would result in the rejection of Stevens's allegation of error because the second indictment was issued less than one month before trial. Rather, Stevens urges this Court to apply the intent or spirit of the 270-day rule as a measure of the State's failure to grant a speedy trial. ¶ 16. This Court has stated that if a case is reversed on appeal for retrial, the time for retrial becomes a matter of discretion with the trial court to be measured by the constitutional standards of reasonableness and fairness under the constitutional right to a speedy trial as enunciated in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). Carlisle v. State, 393 So.2d 1312, 1314 (Miss.1981). In Barker, the United States Supreme Court announced a four-part balancing test to be applied on a case-by-case basis: (1) length of delay, (2) reason for delay, (3) defendant's assertion of his right, and (4) prejudice to the defendant. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192. This Court has recognized that: No mathematical formula exists according to which the Barker weighing and balancing process must be performed. The weight to be given each factor necessarily turns on the quality of evidence available on each and, in the absence of evidence, identification of the party with the risk of nonpersuasion. In the end, no one factor is dispositive. The totality of the circumstances must be considered. DeLoach v. State, 722 So.2d 512, 516 (Miss. 1998) (quoting Beavers v. State, 498 So.2d 788, 790 (Miss.1986), overruled on other grounds, State v. Ferguson, 576 So.2d 1252, 1255 (Miss.1991)). ¶ 17. The following chronology is helpful in analyzing this issue: May 5, 1995 Arrested and Incarcerated. Aug. 8, 1995 Original indictment issued. Aug. 12, 1995 Stevens enters guilty plea to aggravated assault on Patrick Holiday. Receives seven-year sentence. Feb. 20-23, 1996 First trial. Stevens is convicted of manslaughter. July 23, 1998 Stevens's conviction for manslaughter reversed and remanded for new trial. Aug. 17, 1998 Issuance of the mandate in Stevens I. Nov. 5, 1998 Stevens allegedly flat-times his sentence for aggravated assault. Dec. 18, 1998 Stevens files demand for speedy trial. July 2, 1999 Stevens files motion to dismiss for failure to have speedy trial. July 6, 1999 Original trial date. Hearing on motion to dismissdenied. Continuance granted. Aug. 12, 1999 Second indictment issued. Sept. 7, 1999 Second trial.
¶ 18. The speedy trial clock begins to run for purposes of determining a violation of a defendant's right to speedy retrial on the date this Court reverses his first conviction. Duplantis v. State, 708 So.2d 1327, 1334 (Miss.1998) (citing State v. Ferguson, 576 So.2d 1252, 1254 (Miss. 1991)). The speedy trial clock began to run in this case on August 17, 1998, the date of the issuance of the mandate in Stevens I. See Duplantis, 708 So.2d at 1334 (clock runs from issuance of mandate). Stevens was not retried until September 7, 1999, 386 days after the court's reversal. This was a delay of more than 12 months. A delay of eight months or longer is presumptively prejudicial. Simmons v. State, 678 So.2d 683, 686 (Miss.1996). This factor must be weighed in favor of Stevens. However, presumptive prejudice alone is insufficient to allow the defendant to prevail on speedy trial grounds. Hurns v. State, 616 So.2d 313, 317 (Miss.1993) (citing Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 656, 112 S.Ct. 2686, 120 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992)). It merely mandates that this Court examine the remaining factors that go into the balance. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192.
¶ 19. Once this Court finds the delay presumptively prejudicial, the burden shifts to the prosecution to produce evidence justifying the delay. See Humphrey v. State, 759 So.2d 368, 375 (Miss. 2000); Ferguson, 576 So.2d at 1254. At the hearing on Stevens's motion to dismiss, the prosecution argued that the delay was caused by the fact that the court had been involved in two lengthy civil trials since February 1999. The trial judge confirmed that he had been in trial from February 16, 1999, through June 23, 1999. ¶ 20. A neutral reason such as overcrowded courts should be weighted less heavily than would a deliberate attempt to hamper the defense, but nevertheless should be considered since the ultimate responsibility of the State for such circumstances rests with the government rather than the defendant. Barker, 407 U.S. at 531, 92 S.Ct. at 2192, 33 L.Ed.2d 101. As a general rule, delays resulting from docket congestion are to be weighed against the State, but not heavily. Skaggs v. State, 676 So.2d 897, 901 (Miss.1996); Adams v. State, 583 So.2d 165, 169 (Miss. 1991). ¶ 21. Nevertheless, if the State can positively demonstrate that the backlog actually caused the delay, then the trial court's denial of a defendant's motion to dismiss may be proper since docket congestion can constitute good cause for delay. McGee v. State, 608 So.2d 1129, 1133 (Miss.1992). In the case at hand, though the trial judge stated he had been in trial from February 1999 through June 1999, the record does not reflect that the docket for the entire circuit court was previously filled with other cases during this period, nor does it reflect that the docket was full for the months prior to February 1999. Furthermore, though the record from the pretrial hearing contains references by the prosecutor and trial judge to continuances granted for this reason, the record contains no such continuances. This factor must weigh slightly against the State. However, we also observe that there is no indication that the State purposefully delayed the trial or that it sought to gain any tactical advantage by the delay.
¶ 22. The State bears the burden of bringing a defendant to trial in a speedy manner. Sharp v. State, 786 So.2d 372, 381 (Miss.2001); State v. Magnusen, 646 So.2d 1275, 1283 (Miss.1994). Although the defendant has neither a duty nor an obligation to bring himself to trial, points are placed on his side of the ledger when, as here, he has made a demand for a speedy trial. Magnusen, 646 So.2d at 1283. In the case at hand, Stevens demanded a speedy trial on December 18, 1998, and filed a motion to dismiss on July 2, 1999, four days prior to the original date set for trial. This factor weighs in favor of Stevens.
¶ 23. Stevens does not bear the burden of proving actual prejudice in this case. On the contrary, when the length of delay is presumptively prejudicial, the burden of persuasion is on the State to show that the delay did not prejudice the defendant. State v. Ferguson, 576 So.2d 1252, 1254 (Miss.1991). However, if the defendant fails to make a showing of actual prejudice to his defense, this prong of the balancing test cannot weigh heavily in his favor. Polk v. State, 612 So.2d 381, 387 (Miss.1992). ¶ 24. This Court has explained that prejudice to the defendant may manifest itself in two ways. Duplantis, 708 So.2d at 1336. First, the defendant may suffer because of the restraints to his liberty, whether it be the loss of his physical freedom, loss of a job, loss of friends or family, damage to his reputation, or anxiety. Id. Second, the delay may actually impair the accused's ability to defend himself. Id.