Opinion by
Pursuant to the authorization contained in section 16-12-102(1), C.R.S.2008, the People appeal the trial court’s order dismissing charges filed against defendant, Randy Carr. We affirm.
Defendant was charged with distribution of marijuana and three habitual criminal counts.
On February 12, 2007, while defendant was in the legal and physical custody of the Department of Corrections (DOC) for a sentence in another case, he filed a pro se “Request for Disposition of Detainer and Certificate of Inmate Status” asking that his trial commence within 180 days pursuant to the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of De-tainers Act (the UMDDA). See §§ 16-14-101 to -108, C.R.S.2008.
On May 21, 2007, defendant appeared with counsel, entered a plea of not guilty, and requested a bond reduction so that he could begin the parole component of his sentence in the other case. In addition, defendant asked the court to set the matter for trial. The trial court reduced defendant’s bond and suggested a trial date of August 28, 2007. Although this date was approximately two weeks beyond the expiration of the 180-day UMDDA period, both parties agreed to the proposal without mentioning defendant’s request under the UMDDA.
Defendant posted bond on May 23, 2007. On June 23, 2007, he was paroled.
On August 14, 2007, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on the following section of the UMDDA:
(1) Within one hundred eighty days after the receipt of the request by the court and the prosecuting official, or within such additional time as the court for good cause shown in open court may grant, the prisoner or the prisoner’s counsel being present, the indictment, information, or criminal complaint shall be brought to trial; but the parties may stipulate for a continuance or a continuance may be granted on notice to the prisoner’s attorney and opportunity to be heard. If, after such a request, the indictment, information, or criminal complaint is not brought to trial within that period, no court of this state shall any longer have jurisdiction thereof, nor shall the untried indictment, information, or criminal complaint be of any further force or effect, and the court shall dismiss it with prejudice.
(2) Any prisoner who requests disposition pursuant to section 16-14-102 may waive the right to disposition within the time specified in subsection (1) of this section by express waiver on the record after full advisement by the court. If a prisoner makes said waiver, the time for trial of the indictment, information, or criminal complaint shall be extended as provided in section 18-1^405(4), C.R.S., concerning waiver of the right to speedy trial.
§ 16-14-104(1), (2), C.R.S.2008; see also ch. 340, sec. 1, § 16-14-104(1), 2004 Colo. Sess. Laws 1377 (increasing the speedy trial period from 90 days, effective July 1,2004).
On August 21, 2007, the trial court granted the motion for dismissal, reasoning that, because defendant had not expressly waived his UMDDA rights “on the record after full advisement by the court,” his acquiescence in
The People then filed this appeal.
I.
The People first argue that, because the purpose of the UMDDA is to prevent disruptions to an inmate’s rehabilitative progress, the UMDDA ceased to apply once defendant was paroled and released from the physical custody of the DOC. We conclude that this contention was discussed in the trial court, but we further conclude that this argument lacks merit for the reasons stated in
People v. Mascarenas,
II.
The People next argue that defendant waived his rights under the UMDDA by accepting a trial date outside the 180-day speedy trial period. We disagree.
As an initial matter, we must resolve the parties’ dispute concerning the applicable standard of review. Defendant argues that a trial court’s decision to dismiss charges based on a violation of the UMDDA is subject to review under an abuse of discretion standard. There is some support for this view in
People v. Mascarenas,
Our task in construing a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the General Assembly. To determine that intent, we look first to the plain and ordinary meaning of the statutory language.
See People v. Dist. Court,
When the language is clear and unambiguous, the statute must be construed as written, without resort to interpretive rules of statutory construction.
People v. Zapotocky,
Here, as set forth above, the plain language of section 16-14-104(2) specifies that, in order to be valid, a defendant’s waiver of his or her rights under the UMDDA must be (1) express; (2) on the record; and (3) preceded by a full advisement by the court. Significantly, this provision was- added to section 16-14-104 in 1995.
See
ch. 129, § 1, § 16-14-104(2), 1995 Colo. Sess. Laws 464. Accordingly, we decline to follow those cases holding, under the
unamended
version of section 16-14-104, that “a defendant may
We acknowledge that in
People v. Garcia,
Subsequent decisions referring to the implied waiver language of
Garcia
are distinguishable.
See People v. Reyes,
Here, defendant’s May 21, 2007, acquiescence in the August 28, 2007, trial date proposed by the court did not meet the express waiver requirements of section 16-11-204(2). Specifically, as the trial court noted, it did not advise defendant that his assent to the trial date would constitute a waiver of his speedy trial right under the UMDDA, and defendant did not expressly waive his speedy trial right on the record. Further, the UMDDA advisement form attached to defendant’s pro se request for speedy disposition did not advise him that agreement to a trial date set beyond the 180-day limitations period would constitute an implied waiver of his rights under the UMDDA. Therefore, contrary to the People’s contention, we cannot rely on this advisement form as a basis for finding full compliance with the express waiver requirements of section 16-11-204(2).
As pertinent here, section 18-1-405(5.1), C.R.S. 2008, of the statute addressing speedy trial provides that, if a trial date is offered to a defendant and neither the defendant nor his counsel objects because the date is outside the statutory time limit, then the statutory time limit is extended to the new trial date. To the extent defendant contends that this section should be incorporated into the UMDDA, pursuant to the analysis in
People v. Newton,
In summary, we agree with the trial court’s determination that, because defendant’s UMDDA speedy trial right was violated, it was without jurisdiction to proceed to trial.
The order is affirmed.
In a Petition for Rehearing, the People argue for the first time that section 16-14-104(2) creates only a permissive method by which a waiver may occur. However, this contention was never asserted in the trial
Notes
Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S.2008.
