State v. Heath, 432 P.3d 141

Heath was arrested for DUI on April 10, 2015; charged April 17, 2015 as a fourth-or-subsequent felony; trial ultimately occurred June 29, 2017 — 811 days after arrest.
Multiple continuances: initial trial set for Nov 9–10, 2015; Heath requested and agreed to continuances to replace counsel and prepare, producing long delays; State later cited institutional docketing delays and an out-of-county judge for further postponements.
Heath filed a speedy-trial motion on August 30, 2016 and later moved to suppress blood evidence; hearings were continued and consolidated; motions were denied; jury convicted Heath of the § 61-8-401 DUI charge.
Blood draw: an advanced EMT (Margaret Carey) drew blood pursuant to a search warrant while acting under supervision of a physician assistant (Pat Alduenda), who was supervised by a physician; BAC result was 0.212 and was admitted at trial.
District Court attributed 451 days to the State (institutional) and 360 days to Heath (defense-caused/waived); court found no prejudice and denied dismissal for speedy-trial violation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of motion to dismiss for lack of speedy trial violated constitutional/state speedy-trial rights	Heath: 811-day delay violated speedy-trial rights; many delays were institutional and should be blamed on State	State: Much of delay was caused or acquiesced in by Heath (continuances, late motions, counsel changes); remaining delay was institutional and justified	Court affirmed denial: balanced factors attributed 451 days to State and 360 to Heath; Heath failed to show prejudice or sincere desire for prompt trial
Whether admission of blood-alcohol test complied with Montana law (who may withdraw blood)	Heath: blood draw was performed under supervision of a physician assistant, not a physician or RN, violating § 61-8-405(1)	State: physician assistant acting under a supervising physician’s authority satisfies statutory requirement when read with § 37-20-403(1); location (jail) not restricted by statute	Court affirmed admission: PA acted as agent of supervising physician under combined statutory reading; jail draw pursuant to warrant was permissible

State v. Ariegwe, 167 P.3d 815 (Mont. 2007) (framework for attributing periods of delay and speedy-trial analysis)
State v. Steigelman, 302 P.3d 396 (Mont. 2013) (four-factor balancing test and prejudice standards)
State v. Stops, 301 P.3d 811 (Mont. 2013) (delays and attribution when defendant files last-minute speedy-trial motions)
State v. Couture, 240 P.3d 987 (Mont. 2010) (delay caused by defendant is attributed to defendant)
Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (U.S. 1972) (speedy-trial interests and prejudice inquiry)