Court Opinion

ID: 9522761
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:32:10.586304+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:03:53.775778
License: Public Domain

Johnson, J.,
¶ 31. dissenting in Part I, and concurring in Part II. I do not agree that we decided defendant’s original speedy-trial claim exclusively under the federal constitution or that defendant waived that claim on state constitutional grounds. Our original opinion did not explicitly indicate whether it was grounded on the federal or state constitution, but it implicitly relied upon the Vermont Constitution. Nevertheless, because the opinion did not contain a plain statement of an adequate and independent state ground for the decision, the Supreme Court reviewed and reversed the case based on its own analysis of the facts and the federal constitution. See Vermont v. Brillon, 556 U.S._,_, 129 S. Ct. 1283, 1287 (2009). On remand, we asked the parties to file briefs, not to exceed thirty pages, “on whether (1) this Court should find a speedy-trial violation under the Vermont Constitution, given the current state of the record; and (2) whether this Court should remand the matter to the district court for further factfinding to determine if there was a systematic breakdown in the public defender system that caused the *464delay in this case.” Now, after the parties have filed those briefs, we avoid the very questions we asked them to brief by stating that our original opinion was grounded solely on the federal constitution and that defendant waived his claim under the Vermont Constitution. Instead, we should clarify that our original opinion was in fact grounded on both the state and federal constitutions. Further, I would hold that the State’s Attorney8 has not presented us with any persuasive basis to alter our precedent under the Vermont Constitution. Accordingly, I dissent from this Court’s refusal to uphold its previous dismissal of the charges against defendant. Given the Court’s refusal to do so, however, I concur with the majority’s determination that the trial court erred by denying defendant’s request to bifurcate the aggravation element of the domestic assault charge.
¶ 32. Defendant sought dismissal of the charges against him in the district court based upon a violation of his right to a speedy trial under both the Vermont Constitution and the United States Constitution. On appeal to this Court, defendant reiterated that his lack-of-a-speedy-trial claim was grounded on both the state and federal constitutions, noting that this Court had adopted the federal Barker test in analyzing such claims under the Vermont Constitution. In our original opinion, we stated that “[b]oth the federal and Vermont constitutions guarantee defendants a right to a speedy trial,” and acknowledged that this Court had “adopted” the federal Barker test to determine whether there had been a violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial. Brillon I, 2008 VT 35, ¶¶ 11-12 (citing Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530 (1972)).
¶ 33. In effect, like other state courts, we have accepted the basic balancing test set forth in Barker, but have reserved the right to interpret the Barker factors to best address the needs of our own court system and to ensure that defendants retain the full benefit of their state constitutional right to a speedy trial. Cf. State v. Ariegwe, 2007 MT 204, ¶ 35, 167 P.3d 815 (stating that while it was “guided by Barker’s general approach for analyzing speedy trial claims,” it could give its own meaning to Barker *465factors under its state constitutional speedy-trial provision). Toward that end, in Britton we cited and discussed several state court decisions concerning the second Barker factor, including decisions in which state courts had applied the Barker balancing test, but construed the factors under their state constitutions. See Britton, 2008 VT 35, ¶¶ 18-19; cf. Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 1043-44 (1983) (in finding no independent state ground to support Michigan court’s decision, Supreme Court noted that state court had relied exclusively on federal cases and its interpretation of federal law). In short, our opinion would have been exactly the same had only state constitutional grounds been raised, and thus the decision is our precedent under the Vermont Constitution, independent of its reliance on the United States Constitution.
¶ 34. Nevertheless, while we implied our reliance on the state constitution, we did not explicitly indicate, as at least one of the cases we cited did, that apart from any protection afforded by the federal constitution, our state constitution provided an adequate and independent ground for our decision. See Middlebrook v. State, 802 A.2d 268, 270 (Del. 2002) (explicitly stating that its speedy-trial decision was supported by either federal or state constitution). The result is that the United States Supreme Court reviewed our decision and rejected our analysis of the second Barker factor under the United States Constitution. See State v. Badger, 141 Vt. 430, 448, 450 A.2d 336, 347 (1982) (giving primacy to Vermont Constitution prevents Supreme Court from wasting “its scarce resources on illusory controversies”).
¶ 35. Of course, the Supreme Court’s reversal is controlling only to the extent of our reliance on the federal constitution. See id. at 448, 450 A.2d at 346 (“[I]f our ruling is based upon an adequate and independent state ground, federal review is limited to a determination of whether Vermont law violates some provision of federal law.”). Accordingly, our opinion still stands on independent state constitutional grounds, and on remand we should rely upon those grounds to reinstate the opinion. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Labron, 690 A.2d 228, 228-29 (Pa. 1997) (following reversal and remand by United States Supreme Court based on its conclusion that state court had not expressly grounded its holding on state constitution, Pennsylvania Supreme Court reaffirmed its original holding, explicitly stating that its prior order had been decided on state constitutional grounds); see also People v. Ramos, 689 P.2d 430, 432 (Cal. 1984) (en banc) (following reversal and remand from *466United States Supreme Court based on Court’s conclusion that jury instruction did not violate federal constitution, California Supreme Court held that instruction was “incompatible with state constitutional doctrine”); People v. Harris, 570 N.E.2d 1051, 1052-53 (N.Y. 1991) (following reversal and remand from United States Supreme Court based on its analysis of federal constitution, New York Court of Appeals held that state constitution required suppression of statements following illegal arrest); People v. P.J. Video, Inc., 501 N.E.2d 556, 558 (N.Y. 1986) (following reversal and remand from United States Supreme Court based on its conclusion that there was no federal constitutional violation, New York Court of Appeals held that seizure of alleged obscene videotapes violated state constitution); Pap’s A.M. v. City of Erie, 812 A.2d 591, 593 (Pa. 2002) (following reversal and remand by United States Supreme Court based on its conclusion that nudity ordinance did not violate federal constitution, Pennsylvania Supreme Court reinstated its prior order on state constitutional grounds); cf. Van Arsdall v. State, 524 A.2d 3, 4 (Del. 1987) (following reversal and remand from United States Supreme Court based on its determination that constitutional violation did not require automatic reversal, Delaware Supreme Court determined that error was not harmless under state law); State v. Robinette, 685 N.E.2d 762, 771 (Ohio 1997) (following reversal and remand from United States Supreme Court based on its determination that state court misapplied federal constitutional law, Ohio Supreme Court adopted federal analysis under state constitution).
¶ 36. I recognize that the Supreme Court has a unique perspective in establishing a national rule, but we are not bound by policies that are based on a national perspective. See State v. Ludlow Supermarkets, Inc., 141 Vt. 261, 268, 448 A.2d 791, 795 (1982) (noting that while the United States Supreme Court disposes “of a case on the premise that its impact will presumably affect more than fifty varying jurisdictions, a state court reaches its result in the legal climate of the single jurisdiction with which it is associated”); Pap’s A.M., 812 A.2d at 608 (in reinstating its prior decision on state constitutional grounds following remand from United States Supreme Court, Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that differences of opinion between federal and state courts “may be based in part on differing jurisprudential theories of the function and responsibilities of government, but they may be *467based also on a regional, versus a national perspective”) (quotation omitted). Indeed, it is entirely appropriate that we establish our own local rule for determining when there is a speedy-trial violation. Our constitution provides that this Court “shall have administrative control of all the courts of the state, and disciplinary authority concerning all judicial officers and attorneys at law in the State.” Vt. Const, ch. II, § 30. In furtherance of this authority, this Court is empowered to make rules with respect to the provision of public defender services to indigent defendants. 13 V.S.A. § 5204. To that effect, this Court has promulgated an administrative order governing the assignment of counsel, the principal purpose of which is “to assure the availability of counsel to all persons adjudged in need thereof.” Admin. Order No. 4, § 1.
¶ 37. With these responsibilities in mind, we held in Britton I that when assigned counsel is unable or unwilling to move a criminal case forward over inordinate periods of time notwithstanding the defendant’s repeated demands to be tried, the resulting delay must be counted, though not heavily, against the state under the second factor of the Barker balancing test that we have adopted in analyzing speedy-trial claims under the Vermont Constitution. 2008 VT 35, ¶¶2, 33, 35, 38. Following a detailed analysis of federal and state courts construing the second Barker factor, we arrived at this holding based on our desire to preserve the integrity of the state’s criminal justice system and to ensure that every defendant, including indigent defendants, is provided the opportunity to obtain a speedy trial. Id. ¶¶ 18-19.
¶ 38. On remand from the Supreme Court, we asked the parties to brief whether this Court should find a speedy-trial violation under the Vermont Constitution, given the current state of the record, and whether this Court should remand the matter to the district court for further factfinding. For its part, the State’s Attorney has responded by arguing that (1) the record establishes that defendant and his counsel were responsible for all of the delays in this case; and (2) the United States Supreme Court’s opinion bars this Court from finding a speedy-trial violation under the Vermont Constitution.
¶ 39. We should reject both arguments, neither of which has any merit or is responsive to our entry order. In our original opinion, we stated that “the record does not support the State’s suggestion” that defendant attempted “to manipulate the system by creating delay that could conceivably support later speedy-trial *468claims.” Britton I, 2008 VT 35, ¶ 33. Indeed, notwithstanding the United States Supreme Court’s reference to “defendant’s deliberate attempt to disrupt proceedings,” Britton, 556 U.S. at_, 129 S. Ct. at 1292, we concluded that, “[t]o the contrary, the record reveals that defendant consistently sought to be tried by competent counsel as quickly as possible.” Britton I, 2008 VT 35, ¶ 33. Nothing in the State’s Attorney’s revised statement of the facts suggests otherwise. See Britton I, 2008 VT 35, ¶ 6 (noting that facts are “essentially undisputed” and concluding that remanding for post-conviction-relief-like hearing “would do nothing to further our resolution of the ultimate legal issue we must decide”).9
¶ 40. Related to its first argument, the State’s Attorney also suggests that we failed to take into account the effect that Brillon’s early delay tactics had in causing the later delays. As noted, the record in this case does not demonstrate that Brillon ever deliberately sought to force the withdrawal of any of his attorneys in an effort to manipulate the system. In any event, we did not count against the state the earlier periods of time referenced by the State’s Attorney, and we did take into account all of defendant’s actions in reaching our overall determination that the second factor of the Barker test weighed against the state, though not heavily. Apparently, the State’s Attorney would have this Court adopt a “but for” test that precludes counting any time period against the state if the circumstances occurring during that time period would not have arisen but for the defendant’s previous actions. But an initial delay caused by a defendant cannot immunize the state against all later delays for which the state would otherwise be held responsible. In this case, the further delays and periods of time in which defendant had no representation were attributable to subsequent assigned counsel and miscommunication between the defender general and the court system. While these later delays may not have occurred but for earlier delays attributable to defendant, the later delays were independent and not the direct or proximate result of those earlier delays.
¶ 41. Nor is there any merit in the State’s Attorney’s second argument that the Supreme Court’s decision forecloses us from *469reinstating our decision under the Vermont Constitution. The State’s Attorney cites a particular passage in Vermont n Brillon as holding that our decision, if allowed to stand, would violate the federal due process rights of indigent criminal defendants. In the passage, the Supreme Court postulated that our holding
could encourage appointed counsel to delay proceedings by seeking unreasonable continuances, hoping thereby to obtain a dismissal of the indictment on speedy-trial grounds. Trial courts might well respond by viewing continuance requests made by appointed counsel with skepticism, concerned that even an apparently genuine need for more time is in reality a delay tactic. Yet the same considerations would not attend a privately retained counsel’s requests for time extensions. We see no justification for treating defendants’ speedy-trial claims differently based on whether their counsel is privately retained or publicly assigned.
556 U.S. at_, 129 S. Ct. at 1292.
¶ 42. Plainly, this passage does not amount to a holding that our decision in Brillon I violates the federal due process rights of indigent defendants. Rather, the Court merely speculated that our holding could create a different dynamic in how courts address motions to continue depending on whether the motions came from assigned or retained counsel. This notion addresses the State’s Attorney’s contention that our holding will create a two-tiered criminal justice system in which motions to withdraw or continue will be scrutinized more carefully when defendants are represented by assigned counsel. The argument is both misdirected and overstated. In one sense, there is an inherent double standard. A defendant who can afford an attorney may choose the attorney. On the other hand, a defendant who cannot afford an attorney is not entitled to an attorney of choice, but rather must accept the counsel assigned by the court. See State v. Ahearn, 137 Vt. 253, 262, 403 A.2d 696, 703 (1979) (“An indigent defendant has no right to counsel of his own choosing.”). For this reason, the considerations may not be identical when a trial court reviews a motion to withdraw in a case involving assigned, as opposed to retained, counsel. But, in the end, regardless of whether counsel is assigned or retained, the trial court has the responsibility of assuring, in reviewing a motion to withdraw or continue, that the requests are *470reasonable and not an attempt to manipulate the system. In short, the standard for reviewing such motions does not differ in any significant way.
¶43. We held in our original opinion that delays caused by defense counsel, in rare circumstances, may be attributable to the state, not because the attorneys are assigned counsel, but rather because it is the responsibility of the state — the court system and the prosecution — to provide a prompt trial for defendants who are demanding their right to one. This is true irrespective of whether defense counsel is assigned or retained. I agree with the Supreme Court that assigned counsel are not state actors in the same sense as prosecutors representing the interests of the state in court, but when they fail to act on behalf of their clients, for institutional or other reasons, notwithstanding their clients’ persistent pleas to be tried, and the trial court fails to intercede so as to afford defendants in such circumstances the speedy trial they demand, such delays should be attributable, though not heavily, to the state. Even the State conceded in its original brief that the institutional delays in this case that caused defendant to be without counsel for a period of months should be counted against the state.
¶ 44. I would reject the State’s Attorney’s argument that assigned counsel might be tempted to delay trial in the hopes of getting a client’s criminal charges dismissed. We should not presume that assigned counsel will intentionally delay cases on the off-chance that their clients would be able to obtain a dismissal of charges based on a speedy-trial violation. First and foremost, we should not set policy or construe our constitution based on the presumption that members of the Vermont Bar will act unethically. In any event, even if assigned counsel were so inclined, such a strategy would not make sense. No matter how weak the potential defense, the likelihood of its success would far exceed any far-fetched attempt to manipulate the system to obtain a rare dismissal on speedy-trial grounds. See State v. Keith, 160 Vt. 257, 269-70, 628 A.2d 1247, 1255 (1993) (noting that speedy-trial violations are rare because “courts are reluctant to resort to the radical remedy of dismissal” when it means freeing someone who may have committed serious crime); see also State v. Vargas, 2009 VT 31, ¶¶ 10, 17, 185 Vt. 629, 971 A.2d 665 (mem.) (rejecting claim of speedy-trial violation because, unlike Britton I, defendant did not repeatedly and adamantly demand speedy trial).
*471¶ 45. Further, if in fact our holding were to increase the trial courts’ vigilance in scrutinizing motions to continue or withdraw to assure that defendants or their attorneys are not attempting to manipulate the system, so much the better. Trial courts should scrutinize motions to continue or withdraw before granting them, irrespective of whether defense counsel is assigned or retained. See V.R.Cr.P. 50(b)-(c) (establishing strict criteria for granting continuances); V.R.Cr.P. 44.2(c) (providing that motions for withdrawal of counsel following initial status conference or more than twenty-eight days after arraignment may be granted only “for good cause shown and on such terms as the court may order”). If a defendant is demanding a speedy trial, defense counsel should be given no more than a reasonable amount of time to prepare for trial so as to protect the rights and interests of both the accused and society. See Barker, 407 U.S. at 521, 521 n.15 (stating that courts considering motions for continuance should be guided by principle that trials must be “swift but deliberate,” and further noting that “requirement of unreasonable speed would have a deleterious effect both upon the rights of the accused and upon the ability of society to protect itself’). By the same token, when a defendant demands a new assigned counsel, the trial court should scrutinize the demand to determine whether it is legitimate and has an adequate basis. As we stated in Brillon I, “it is ultimately the trial court’s responsibility to control the proceedings by denying new counsel or continuances if it believes that the defendant is attempting to manipulate the system.” 2008 VT 35, ¶ 5.
¶ 46. For all these reasons, we should reinstate our original opinion on independent state constitutional grounds insofar as that is what we intended in the opinion and none of the policy concerns raised by the State’s Attorney demonstrate that the opinion was in error or ill-advised. I recognize that the brief language in the federal and state constitutions granting the right to a speedy trial does not differ in any significant way. Compare U.S. Const, amend. VI (stating that in “criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”), with Vt. Const, ch. I, art. 10 (stating that “in all prosecutions for criminal offenses, a person hath a right to ... a speedy public trial”). But the similarity in language in the two constitutions does not preclude us from exercising our authority and responsibility to construe the Vermont constitution. See Ramos, 689 P.2d at 439 *472(stating, on remand from United States Supreme Court, that state courts cannot relegate their responsibility for resolving state law to guardians of federal law, and thus are not confined to Supreme Court’s interpretation of similar provision in federal constitution). Indeed, we have diverged from the United States Supreme Court on numerous occasions even when the language in the federal and state constitutions did not vary to any significant degree. See, e.g., State v. Sprague, 2003 VT 20, ¶¶ 13-20, 175 Vt. 123, 824 A.2d 539 (rejecting under Article 11 of Vermont Constitution United States Supreme Court’s holding that police officers may order motorists out of their vehicles without any particularized suspicion of criminal activity or danger); State v. Morris, 165 Vt. 111, 126-27, 680 A.2d 90, 101 (1996) (declining to follow United States Supreme Court’s holding that police may make warrantless search of trash left out for pickup, and citing other occasions in which this Court has taken path different from Supreme Court). That is the course we should take in this case.

 As in the first opinion, in this opinion I use the word “state” in lower case to refer to the combination of government entities that are responsible for administering the criminal justice system. See State v. Brillon, 2008 VT 35, ¶ 2 n.1, 183 Vt. 475, 955 A.2d 1108 [hereinafter Brillon I]. To avoid confusion, I use the term “State’s Attorney” when referring to appellee.

 In his dissent, Justice Burgess resurrects his version of the facts from his original dissenting opinion in Brillon I. I see no purpose in debating the facts in this opinion. The original opinion speaks for itself and stands as written.