Terry Stinnie v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 1719161

Terry Stinnie was indicted for felony strangulation (Va. Code § 18.2-51.6) and misdemeanor domestic assault and battery (Va. Code § 18.2-57.2); arrested March 11, 2015 and posted bond.
Parties initially agreed to a bench trial on May 29, 2015; Stinnie later requested a jury trial, and the court moved the date to July 9, 2015.
Stinnie moved to continue the July 9 trial; the court granted a continuance to January 27, 2016, which Stinnie later extended and the court (after review) attributed to the Commonwealth for one short continuance but otherwise charged later continuances to Stinnie.
On February 8, 2016 the parties agreed to a July 19, 2016 jury trial date; Stinnie’s counsel expressly said he was not waiving speedy-trial rights for that continuance.
Stinnie moved to dismiss before trial, claiming a violation of the statutory speedy-trial period under Va. Code § 19.2-243 (trial must begin within nine months/273 days of arrest where not continuously held in custody).
The trial court denied dismissal, finding Stinnie waived the speedy-trial protection for the relevant period by agreeing to the July 19, 2016 trial date; jury convicted Stinnie and he appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Stinnie’s statutory speedy-trial rights under Va. Code § 19.2-243 were violated	Stinnie argued he was not tried within the statutory nine-month period from arrest and the Commonwealth violated § 19.2-243	Commonwealth (and trial court) argued delays attributable to Stinnie (jury demand and his continuances) toll the statute, so trial occurred within allowable time	Court held delays caused or necessitated by Stinnie (including jury demand and his continuances) are chargeable to him; trial commenced before the statutory deadline, so no violation

McCray v. Commonwealth, 44 Va. App. 334 (Va. Ct. App. 2004) (explains nine-month/273-day speedy-trial translation under § 19.2-243)
Ballance v. Commonwealth, 21 Va. App. 1 (Va. Ct. App. 1995) (time from arrest to an agreed initial trial date counts against Commonwealth)
Howard v. Commonwealth, 281 Va. 455 (Va. 2011) (once an initial trial date is set, subsequent continuances toll the speedy-trial period regardless of who moves)
Stinnie v. Commonwealth, 22 Va. App. 726 (Va. Ct. App. 1996) (defendant-caused continuance chargeable to defendant when continuance solely for defendant’s benefit)
Heath v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 389 (Va. 2001) (defendant motions that necessitate delays, e.g., psychiatric exams, toll the speedy-trial clock)
Brown v. Commonwealth, 57 Va. App. 381 (Va. Ct. App. 2010) (appellate review framework: factual findings deferential, legal conclusions de novo)
Mitchell v. Commonwealth, 30 Va. App. 520 (Va. Ct. App. 1999) (distinguishes general vs. limited statutory speedy-trial waivers)
Stephens v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 224 (Va. 1983) (delays necessitated by defendant constitute acts that slow judicial process and are attributable to the defense)