Court Opinion

ID: 9648329
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:14:00.046856+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:58.417874
License: Public Domain

WHITHAM, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result. The majority concludes that “the IAD [Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act] does not mandate dismissal of the Texas indictment for delays which occurred prior to Dallas County’s receipt of appellant’s request for speedy trial.” Thus, the majority holds that the receiving state should not be penalized with the mistakes of the sending state in complying with the IAD and should not be required to dismiss an indictment because of the sending state’s mistakes. I disagree. In my view, the receiving state, having set the provisions of the Agreement in motion, must bear the burden of assuring that its provisions are enforced in the sending state. People v. Lincoln, 42 Colo.App. 512, 601 P.2d 641, 644 (1979). Thus, because the receiving state, Texas, freely entered into a compact with the sending *376state, Arizona, for the benefit of the prisoner, it cannot now complain of the sending state’s acts or omissions to the detriment of the prisoner by penalizing the prisoner for those mistakes, even though the receiving state did not contribute to those mistakes.
I am not persuaded by the majority’s argument that because the Agreement fails to expressly provide sanctions for mistakes of the sending state, the receiving state should not be penalized. This reasoning works contrary to the purpose of the Agreement: to encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of such charges. TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 51.14, Article I (Vernon 1979). Conversely, I am persuaded by the argument that the remedial nature of the Agreement requires that it should be construed liberally in favor of those it was intended to benefit. See Nelms v. State, 532 S.W.2d 923, 927 (Tenn.1976). The purpose of the Agreement requires that the adverse consequences of official oversights be visited upon the prosecution, not upon the prisoner. Only in this way can the goals of the Agreement be achieved by requiring the officials concerned to learn of their duties under the Agreement, and to perform them conscientiously. Colorado v. Lincoln, 601 P.2d at 644, citing People v. Esposito, 37 Misc. 2d 386, 394, 201 N.Y.S.2d 83, 90 (Queens County Ct.1960). Moreover, the interests of interstate comity, sparked by loud complaints from the indicting state, would soon compel the upper echelon officials in the imprisoning state to bring the negligent correctional officials into line. Note, Convict’s Right to a Speedy Trial, 18 Rutgers L.Rev. 828, 863 (1964). Finally, charging the receiving state with the sending state’s mistakes is more sensible than charging the prisoner for those mistakes because the officials are generally in a better position to advance the case and to secure cooperation from each other than is the prisoner. State v. Moore, 598 S.W.2d 586, 590 (Mo. Ct.App.1980).
Since I conclude that the receiving state should be charged with the sending state’s mistakes, it follows that if the Arizona prison officials complied with Article III(c) of the Agreement, the date the 180 days would have actually commenced running is on or near July 26, 1985. This is the approximate date on which the majority tells us “[t]he counselor incorrectly advised appellant that he could not take any action to obtain final disposition of the outstanding charges until he was transferred to his final destination within the Arizona correctional system.”
Where a defendant files a timely motion to dismiss, based on noncompliance by officials of the sending state with the provisions of Article III(c) of the Agreement, supported by documentation showing that a detainer from the receiving state was lodged against him, the burden rests upon the receiving state to establish compliance with the Agreement’s provisions by the sending state. See People v. Lincoln, 601 P.2d at 644. I find that the State failed to meet this burden. In fact, the State offers no evidence to refute appellant’s testimony that from the period of July 1985 until January 31, 1986, the Arizona prison officials failed to comply with the agreement by not allowing appellant to notify the Dallas County authorities. Thus, the trial court erred in its finding that “there was no evidence of the State of Arizona depriving [appellant] of any right to file under Article 51.14 prior to [January 31, 1986].” The majority even agrees that “[a]dmittedly, the delays relied on by appellant prior to his written notification to Dallas County were occasioned by events or omissions occurring in Arizona.” Furthermore, I conclude that there is no evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the Arizona authorities did not deprive appellant of his right to file prior to January 31,1986. The State put on no evidence to the contrary, so it clearly failed to meet its burden of establishing compliance. See People v. Lincoln, 601 P.2d at 644. Thus, the proper remedy is dismissal of the indictment against appellant in accordance with Article V(c). See People v. Office, 126 Mich.App. 597, 337 N.W.2d 592, 595 (1983). The 148 days that the trial court found had actually elapsed under Article III of the Agreement from February 4,1986, to February 9,1987, com*377bined with the uncontested six-month period from July 1985 to January 31, 1986, satisfies the 180-day requirement for dismissal of an indictment under the IAD.
Having concluded that the state violated the IAD and that the indictment should be dismissed under the Act, I now address the constitutionality of the IAD. See Smith v. State, 658 S.W.2d 172, 174 (Tex.Crim.App. 1983). To my mind, the Act is unconstitutional as a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for the same reasons expressed in Meshell v. State, 739 S.W.2d 246 (Tex.Crim.App.1987). Both Acts attempt to provide procedural guidelines for statutory enforcement of a defendant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. See Meshell v. State, 739 S.W.2d at 255; cf. Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, Article I. Like the Speedy Trial Act, the IAD violates the separation of powers doctrine because it deprives the prosecution of its exclusive discretion in preparing cases for trial and deprives the judges of their exclusive discretion in setting criminal cases for trial by mandating dismissal if Article III is not met. No consideration is given to the factors determining whether appellant has been deprived of his constitutional right to a speedy trial, particularly whether or not appellant has been prejudiced by the delay. Cf Meshell v. State, 739 S.W.2d at 256-57. Because no other constitutional provision expressly grants the Legislature the power to control a prosecutor’s preparation for trial or the judge’s power to set a case for trial, I must conclude that the Legislature, by providing for such a right in the present case, violated the separation of powers doctrine. Cf. Meshell v. State, 739 S.W.2d at 257. Thus, I would hold that the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, Article 51.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, is unconstitutional as a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. TEX. CONST, art. II, § 1.
As the majority correctly noted, the Speedy Trial Act was held unconstitutional by Meshell v. State and affords appellant no relief. Since I would hold the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act unconstitutional, it follows that this Act also affords appellant no relief. Therefore, the trial court did not err in denying appellant’s motions to dismiss. Consequently, I agree that we must overrule appellant’s sole point of error and affirm the trial court’s judgment.