Opinion ID: 6108244
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Based on Failure to Move for Dismissal Based on a Violation of Right to Speedy Trial

Text: With respect to his speedy-trial claim, Collins alleged below that he had been arrested in Panama City, Florida, on August 24, 2010, and brought to trial on February 13, 2013. In his argument on appeal, Collins concedes that the speedy-trial time began to run on September 2, 2010, and the direct-appeal record demonstrates that Collins was arrested on September 2, 2010. The time that elapsed between September 2, 2010, and February 13, 2013, totaled 895 days. In his petition, Collins alleged that his trial was conducted  more than twelve months after his arrest and that the only continuance filed on his behalf was granted on May 2, 2012. 4 Collins argues on appeal that between the date of his arrest and July 12, 2012, there were 488 days which must be un-excluded. As explained above, the trial court made a summary finding that Collins was tried within the required speedy-trial time frame based on a review of the docket sheet. However, the trial court failed to set forth the dates that would have been excludable under the speedy-trial rule and did not include in the postconviction record the docket sheet upon which it had based its conclusion. The docket sheet that was included in the direct-appeal record is deficient in that the docket sheet contained therein is missing those parts of the docket that recorded the events between July 2012 and the date Collins's trial began in February 2013, leaving over 200 days of delay that cannot be conclusively excluded from the speedy-trial calculation. The last order setting a trial date that is contained in the record on direct appeal was dated by the trial court as April 2, 2012, but it was not filed until July 5, 2012. This final order, filed-marked July 5, 2012, set Collins's trial for the next scheduled trial date and did not specify the date. When no hearing is held on a Rule 37.1 petition, the trial court has an obligation to provide written findings that conclusively show that the petitioner is entitled to no relief. Turner , 2016 Ark. 96 , 486 S.W.3d 757 . In doing so, the trial court shall specify any parts of the files, or records that are relied upon to sustain the court's findings. Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.3 (2013). Collins's allegations establish that the time which elapsed between September 2, 2010, and February 13, 2013, totaled 895 days, and he has therefore established a prima facie case of a speedy-trial violation. Therefore, whether counsel was ineffective depends on whether the State would have been able to prove that there were excluded periods sufficient to bring Collins to trial within the one-year period. Camargo v. State , 346 Ark. 118 , 55 S.W.3d 255 (2001). Sufficient written findings by the trial court are required to demonstrate to this court that Collins was entitled to no relief on his speedy-trial-ineffective-assistance claim. Turner , 2016 Ark. 96 , 486 S.W.3d 757 . The trial court's summary statement that all but nine months were excludable is insufficient for this court's review, especially in view of the lack of a complete record demonstrating that the delays between the entry of the July 2012 order and the date on which the trial that began in February 2013 were, in fact, excludable under Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 28.3 (2013). Accordingly, we reverse and remand to the trial court with directions to conduct a postconviction hearing limited to the two claims of ineffective assistance of counsel preserved by Collins in this appeal. Furthermore, the trial court is directed to ensure that a complete trial docket sheet is included in the record. The trial court is directed to conduct a hearing and enter an order disposing of these two claims within 120 days of the date of this opinion. If the trial court's decision is adverse, Collins will be required to perfect an appeal. Reversed and remanded.