Opinion ID: 2978260
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Days Pretrial Motions are Filed and Decided

Text: This Court has been somewhat inconsistent with respect to whether the day a pretrial motion is filed and the day the court disposes of it should be excluded from the Speedy Trial period. See, e.g., United States v. Crawford, 982 F.2d 199, 203-04 (6th Cir. 1993) (days on which motion is filed and resolved are excluded); United States v. Thomas, 49 F.3d 253, 256 (6th Cir. 1995) (day on which motion is filed is excluded, but day on which motion is resolved is included). However, the plain language of the statute mandates excluding the days on which motions are filed and resolved. See § 3161(h)(1)(D) (excluding “delay resulting from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion”) (emphasis added). Moreover, the vast majority of appellate courts exclude the dates on which motions are filed and resolved. See, e.g., United States v. Fonseca, 435 F.3d 369, 372 (D.C. Cir. 2006); United States v. Papaleo, 853 F.2d 16, 21 (1st Cir. 1988); United States v. Oberoi, 547 F.3d 436, 454 (2d Cir. 2008); Gov’t of Virgin Islands v. Duberry, 923 F.2d 317, 320 n.8 (3d Cir. 1991); United States v. Stoudenmire, 74 F.3d 60, 63 (4th Cir. 1996); United States v. Johnson, 29 F.3d 940, 943 n.4 (5th Cir. 1994); United States v. Daychild, 357 F.3d 1082, 1093 (9th Cir. 2004); United States v. Yunis, 723 F.2d 795, 797 (11th Cir. 1984). Thus, we will exclude from the time computation the dates pretrial motions were filed and resolved. In this case, the only two pretrial motions relevant to the Speedy Trial Nos. 06-2646; 08-1765 United States v. Tinklenberg Page 8 1 Act were the two competency evaluations. Under § 3161(h)(1)(A), delays caused by competency evaluations are treated as a special category of excluded time, which will be discussed in detail below. However, § 3161(h)(1)(A) does not specifically instruct whether to count the days on which motions for such evaluations are made and resolved. See § 3161(h)(1)(A) (stating only that “delay resulting from any proceeding, including any examinations, to determine the mental competency or physical capacity of the defendant” is excluded). Because the two incompetency evaluations were commenced by way of pretrial motions raised by Tinklenberg, we will exclude the days those motions were raised and resolved from the seventy day period, just as we would in the case of any other pretrial motion.