Opinion ID: 1105721
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: whether the trial judge erred in overruling wall's motion to dismiss for lack of a constitutional speedy trial?

Text: ¶ 21. In this allegation of error Wall claims he was denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial. However, it appears from the record that there is no speedy trial problem in the case sub judice. Wall was stopped on March 17th, 1995, at which time he fled immediately upon being arrested. He was later arrested on March 30th, 1995, in Tennessee on other charges for which he became incarcerated in Tennessee until his release on November 3, 1995. Wall remained out of custody until April 16th, 1996, at which point he was arrested again and was taken into custody for Mississippi. It was at this time that the State of Mississippi was finally able to locate him and begin extradition proceedings. On April 19th, 1996, Wall agreed to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Mississippi courts. On May 29th, 1996, Wall appeared before the Court Administrator and asked that the case be continued to give him additional time to get an attorney. The Court Administrator then set his return date for June 11th, 1996. His trial began on August 5th, 1996. ¶ 22. Thus, the record shows that the State of Mississippi did not even know of Wall's whereabouts until April of 1996. The defendant's arrest and incarceration in Tennessee on other charges does not start the clock ticking against the State of Mississippi. The State was not even able to arrest Wall until April of 1996 when he was arrested again on another charge and was turned over to the State of Mississippi. Thus, only about four months passed from the time Mississippi gained custody of Wall and re-arrested him on the present charge until his trial took place in August of the same year. This does not implicate a delay of proportions sufficient to trigger the analysis under Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). This Court has held that a delay of eight months or longer is presumptively prejudicial. Herring v. State, 691 So.2d 948, 955 (Miss.1997). Until there is some delay which is presumptively prejudicial, there is no necessity for inquiry into the other factors that go into the balance. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182. Therefore, this Court need not even consider the other three Barker factors as Wall's assignment of error is without merit. ¶ 23. However, if this Court were to address this issue on the merits, the other three factors would weigh heavily in favor of the State. The four factors to consider according to Barker are: (1) length of the delay, (2) reason for the delay, (3) defendant's assertion of his right, and (4) prejudice to the defendant. Herring, 691 So.2d at 955-56. ¶ 24. This Court has held that [o]nce we find the delay presumptively prejudicial, the burden shifts to the prosecutor to produce evidence justifying the delay and to persuade the trier of fact of the legitimacy of these reasons. State v. Ferguson, 576 So.2d 1252, 1254 (Miss.1991). The State has shown and the lower court found that the overwhelming majority of the delay in the case sub judice is due to Wall himself. He fled the jurisdiction, fought extradition after he had already waived it, and asked for the case to be continued so he could have additional time to get an attorney. This factor weighs in favor of the State. ¶ 25. When considering the third factor, it is important to note that Wall did not assert his right to a speedy trial until June 11, 1996. This was merely two months before he received a trial. Thus, this factor weighs against Wall. ¶ 26. The fourth and final factor to consider is the prejudice that Wall suffered as a result of the delay of his trial. The prejudice prong of the Barker test seeks to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration, minimize anxiety and concern of the accused, and to limit the possibility that the defense will be impaired by the inability to locate witnesses or by failing memory of witnesses. Taylor v. State, 672 So.2d 1246, 1261 (Miss. 1996). Wall seems to feel that being in jail was sufficient prejudice. However, this Court does not agree. Williamson v. State, 512 So.2d 868, 877 (Miss.1987) (implicitly overruled in Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114, 134 (Miss.1991)) on grounds unrelated. It is important to note that Wall was incarcerated for other offenses, not because of the crime with which he is now charged. Russell v. Lynaugh, 892 F.2d 1205, 1216 (5th Cir.1989) (cannot claim anxiety of incarceration when serving time for another crime). Wall does not even attempt to assert the last factor, impairment of defense, which is considered when determining if a defendant has been prejudiced. In sum, Wall has made no showing of prejudice to himself or to his defense. Weighing the Barker factors together, this writer finds no constitutional violation of Wall's prosecution. As there was good cause for the delay in bringing Wall to trial, and as Wall was not prejudiced by the delay, this assignment of error is without merit.