Court Opinion

ID: 9665319
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:44:44.115347+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:14.718563
License: Public Domain

MILLER, Judge,
dissenting.
The majority reverses appellant’s conviction because the trial court erred in summarily overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss the indictment under the Speedy Trial Act. Although I agree that the trial court erred in summarily dismissing the motion without a hearing, I disagree with the majority’s remedy. Instead of reversing the judgment with directions to set aside the indictment and dismiss the prosecution, I would abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for a hearing.
The trial court, in summarily overruling appellant’s motion to dismiss, denied the State an opportunity to announce whether it had been ready at all appropriate times *831and denied appellant the opportunity to rebut any such announcement from the State.
In Barfield v. State, 586 S.W.2d 538 (Tex.Cr.App.1979) the Court said:
“Once the defendant files his motion to dismiss for failure to adhere to the provisions of the Act, the State must declare its readiness for trial then and at the times required by the Act. This declaration is a prima facie showing of conformity to the Act (footnote deleted), but can be rebutted by evidence submitted by the defendant demonstrating that the state was not ready for trial during the Act’s time limits.” Barfield, supra at p. 542.
In this case, appellant had asserted his rights under the Speedy Trial Act by written pre-trial motion and had directed the court’s attention to the motion and secured a ruling on the motion.
Since the State did not announce that it was ready during the appropriate time period, the majority relies in part on Lee v. State, 641 S.W.2d 533 (Tex.Cr.App.1982), and Apple v. State, 647 S.W.2d 290 (Tex.Cr.App.1983), for reversing the case and dismissing the indictment.
On first blush, both Lee, supra, and Apple, supra, would seem to be directly on point, but a closer examination reveals that in each of those cases, the trial judge conducted a hearing at which the State had the opportunity to retroactively announce ready but did not do so. In the case at bar, the State was not given the opportunity by the trial judge and thus it seems patently unfair and unjust to apply the Lee and Apple holding to this fact situation. I would allow the State an opportunity to show compliance with the Speedy Trial Act by abating this cause to the trial court for a hearing on appellant’s Speedy Trial Act motion.
Although abating an appeal for hearing in the trial court is not frequently done, there is precedent for same in extreme cases. In Hullum v. State, 415 S.W.2d 192 (Tex.Cr.App.1966), we abated the appeal and directed that the trial court hold a hearing on defendant’s federal claim of denial of due process. In Kincaid v. State, 500 S.W.2d 487 (Tex.Cr.App.1973), we abated the appeal and ordered the trial court to hold a hearing on defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a hearing which the trial court had refused to hold prior to the time that defendant perfected his appeal. In Gonzalez v. State, 635 S.W.2d 180 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1982), the San Antonio Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to hold a hearing on defendant’s motion for new trial, a hearing which the trial judge had erroneously refused to hold prior to the time that defendant perfected his appeal.
Considering the circumstances of this case, I would abate this appeal and remand the case to the trial court to conduct a hearing on appellant’s Speedy Trial Act motion. Accordingly, I dissent to the majority’s action in reversing and dismissing this cause.
W.C. DAVIS and CAMPBELL, JJ., join.