203 Conn. 494 | Conn. | 1987
This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in which the petitioner is attempting to have declared null and void in the Superior Court of this state detainers filed by sister states under the provisions of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD). General Statutes § 54-186. Specifically, the petitioner seeks to nullify three detainers,
The facts are essentially undisputed. On March 5, 1982, the petitioner was sentenced to eleven concurrent fifteen year terms for robbery in the first degree. See General Statutes § 53a-134. Prior to sentencing, while a pretrial detainee at the Community Correctional Center at Bridgeport (CCC), three detainers were lodged against him, one from Maine, and one from each of two counties in Massachusetts. At that time, he was informed of his right to request disposition of the charges in these states after he was sentenced in Con
The counselor at Bridgeport, however, never processed the paperwork for the petitioner before March 12, 1982, the date on which the petitioner was transferred to Somers. During his first week at Somers, however, the record office supervisor had delivered to him the three warrants lodged against him to which a note was affixed stating: “If you wish to have a speedy trial on the enclosed charges, write a letter to the court and request a final disposition. Attach a request form to your letter and send it to the Record Office. The Record Office will prepare the necessary cover letter and forward both to the Court, registered mail.” The petitioner, however, refused to acknowledge receipt of the warrants, or to ask for the necessary forms to make the request under the IAD, claiming that he had done all that was required of him when he was at the CCC. Pursuant to institutional policy, the records supervisor at Somers mailed the three detainers to the petitioner the next day by regular mail.
Thereafter, between March and August of 1982, the petitioner wrote letters to Somers officials asking about his “speedy trial” requests; he never sent, however, a written notice to the respondent pursuant to article
The trial court did not directly address whether the petitioner properly invoked the provisions of the IAD. Rather, it denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, finding that any remedial relief under the IAD must be sought in the receiving state. It also concluded with respect to the request for temporary custody that since the petitioner’s case rests upon his assertion that he had made a valid request for final disposition, he must be deemed to have consented to being returned to Massachusetts under the IAD.
I
The threshold issue in this appeal is whether Connecticut has jurisdiction as the “sending state” under the IAD to entertain an action by a prisoner seeking to have detainers lodged by a “receiving state” declared null and void in this state.
“The IAD ‘is a congressionally sanctioned interstate compact the interpretation of which presents a question of federal law.’ Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 442, 101 S. Ct. 703, 66 L. Ed. 2d 641 (1981). The decisions of both federal and other state courts therefore may guide our interpretation of its provisions.” State v. Braswell, 194 Conn. 297, 304, 481 A.2d 413 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1112, 105 S. Ct. 793, 83 L. Ed. 2d 786 (1985); see generally annot., 98 A.L.R.3d 160. “It has been generally held that under the IAD, courts in the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated [i.e., the sending or asylum state] lack authority to dismiss out-of-state charges even though a prisoner claims that the ‘receiving state’s’ prosecuting authorities have violated his right to a speedy trial under Article III (a). State ex rel. Garner v. Gray, 59 Wis. 2d 323, 208 N.W.2d 161 (1973); Baker v. Schubin, 72 Misc. 2d 413, 339 N.Y.S.2d 360 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1972); State ex rel. Chamberlain v. Martinco, 288 Minn. 231, 179 N.W.2d 286 (1970); State v. West, 79 N.J. Super. 379, 191 A.2d 758 (Super. Ct. App. Div. 1963).” Hickey v. State, 349 N.W.2d 772, 776-77 (Iowa App. 1984); cf. Mokone v. Fenton, 710 F.2d 998, 1002-1003 (3d Cir. 1983); Stewart v. Sheriff of Leavenworth County, 5 Kan. App. 2d 593, 595, 620 P.2d 352 (1981).
We have also concluded that the asylum court, lacking extraterritorial jurisdiction, is powerless to dismiss the underlying charge. Narel v. Liburdi, 185 Conn. 562, 565, 441 A.2d 177 (1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 928, 102 S. Ct. 1974, 72 L. Ed. 2d 443 (1982). The trial court,
While we have never addressed the issue presented in this appeal, other courts have held that while the “sending state” may not dismiss the charges in the “receiving state,” the “sending state” has authority to dismiss detainer warrants lodged by sister states where it appears that the underlying accusatory instrument itself is subject to dismissal in the courts of the “receiving state” for failure to comply with the speedy trial provisions of the IAD. Hickey v. State, supra, 777; Baker v. Schubin, supra, 419; State v. Sykes, 91 Wis. 2d 436, 439, 283 N.W.2d 446 (1979); see Buchanan v. Michigan Department of Corrections, 50 Mich. App. 1, 212 N.W.2d 745 (1973). These decisions, noting the adverse effects upon a prisoner resulting from a detainer being lodged against him, stressed the importance of ascertaining whether such detainers are valid. As noted in an article on the detainer system, “a prison inmate with a detainer filed against him because of outstanding charges in another jurisdiction may suffer several disabilities, ranging from mandatory maximum-security classification to exclusion from vocational rehabilitation programs and even to possible ineligibility for parole.” D. Wexler & R. Hershey, “Criminal Detainers in a Nutshell,” 7 Crim. L. Bull.
The concern of the drafters of the Uniform Act on Detainers with the harmful effects of detainers is reflected in the act’s statement of purpose. Article I
We conclude, therefore, that the trial court’s interpretation of the IAD as precluding the remedial relief
II
We turn now to the issue of whether the petitioner properly invoked the provisions of the IAD to request a speedy disposition of the charges against him.
A brief overview of the mechanics of the IAD is necessary to our discussion of this issue. “ ‘The provisions of the agreement itself are activated only when the receiving or charging state lodges with the sending or asylum state a detainer based on a pending indictment, information or complaint. People v. Lincoln,
Once a detainer has been filed against a prisoner, “custodial officials must promptly notify the prisoner of the source and contents of the detainer and of the prisoner’s right to request a final disposition of the for
There is no error.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
“The United States Supreme Court has defined a ‘detainer’ as a ‘ “notification filed with the institution in which a prisoner is serving a sentence, advising that he is wanted to face pending criminal charges in another jurisdiction.” ’ United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 359, 98 S. Ct. 1834, 56 L. Ed. 2d 329 (1978), quoting H.R. Rep. No. 91-1018, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 2 (1970); S. Rep. No. 91-1356, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 2 (1970); quoted in Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 436 n.3, 101 S. Ct. 703, 66 L. Ed. 2d 641 (1981).” State v. Braswell, 194 Conn. 297, 300 n.1, 481 A.2d 413 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1112, 105 S. Ct. 793, 83 L. Ed 2d 786 (1985).
Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts are all signatories of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers. See General Statutes § 54-186; 34 Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 1411 through 1419; Mass Gen. Law. Ann. c. 276, §§ 1-1 through 1-8.
General Statutes § 54-186, article II, provides: “As used in this agreement: (a) ‘State’ shall mean a state of the United States; the United States of America; a territory or possession of the United States; the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, (b) ‘Sending state’ shall mean a state in which a prisoner is incarcerated at the time that he initiates a request for final disposition pursuant to article III hereof or at the time
General Statutes § 54-186, article I, provides: “The party states find that charges outstanding against a prisoner, detainers based on untried indictments, informations or complaints, and difficulties in securing speedy trial of persons already incarcerated in other jurisdictions, produce uncertainties which obstruct programs of prisoner treatment and rehabilitation. Accordingly, it is the policy of the party states and the purpose of this agreement to encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of such charges and determination of the proper status of any and all detainers based on untried indictments, informations or complaints. The party states also find that proceedings with reference to such charges and detainers, when emanating from another jurisdiction, cannot properly be had in the absence of cooperative procedures. It is the further purpose of this agreement to provide such cooperative procedures."
We note that our conclusion with respect to this issue does not prevent a “receiving state” whose detainer has been dismissed from using the extradition process upon the completion of the prisoner’s sentence in Connecticut. See Hickey v. State, 349 N.W.2d 772, 777 (Iowa App. 1984); Baker v. Schubin, 72 Misc. 2d 413, 339 N.Y.S.2d 360 (1972).
We indicated earlier in this opinion that the trial court made no specific finding on the petitioner’s compliance with the IAD or lack thereof. While it is firmly established that it is not our function to retry cases on appeal; Waterbury Petroleum Products, Inc. v. Canaan Oil & Fuel Co., 193 Conn. 208, 217, 427 A.2d 988 (1984); State v. Zindros, 189 Conn. 228, 238, 456 A.2d 288 (1983); the absence of a written request compels a conclusion that, as a matter of law, the petitioner did not comply with the IAD and therefore a factual finding by the habeas court is not necessary to our disposition of this issue.
General Statutes § 54-186, article IV, provides in pertinent part: “(a) The appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information or complaint is pending shall be entitled to have a prisoner against whom he has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party state miade available in accordance with article V (a) hereof upon presentation of a written request for temporary custody or availability to the appropriate authorities of the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated; provided that the court having jurisdiction of such indictment, information or complaint shall have duly approved, recorded and transmitted the request; and provided further that there shall be a period of thirty days after receipt by the appropriate authorities before the request be honored, within which period the governor or the sending state may disapprove the request for temporary custody or availability, either upon his own motion or upon motion of the prisoner.
“(c) In respect of any proceeding made possible by this article, trial shall be commenced within one hundred twenty days of the arrival of the prisoner in the receiving state, but for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction of the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. . . .”
General Statutes § 54-186, article III, provides: “(a) Whenever a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution of a party state, and whenever during the continuance of the term of the imprisonment there is pending in any other party state any untried indictment, information or complaint on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner, he shall be brought to trial within one hundred eighty days after he shall have caused to be delivered to the prosecuting officer’s jurisdiction written notice of the place of his imprisonment and his request for a final disposition to be made of the indictment, information or complaint; provided that for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction of the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by a certificate of the appropriate official having custody of the prisoner, stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time already served, the time remaining to be served on the sentence, the amount of good time earned, the time of parole eligibility of the prisoner, and any decisions of the state parole agency relating to the prisoner.
“(b) The written notice and request for final disposition referred to in paragraph (a) hereof shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden, commissioner of correction or other official having custody of him, who shall promptly forward it together with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting official and court by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.
“(c) The warden, commissioner of correction or other official having custody of the prisoner shall promptly inform him of the source and contents of any detainer lodged against him and shall also inform him of his right to make a request for final disposition of the indictment, information or complaint on which the detainer is based.
“(d) Any request for final disposition made by a prisoner pursuant to paragraph (a) hereof shall operate as a request for final disposition of all untried indictments, informations or complaints on the basis of which detainers have been lodged against the prisoner from the state to whose prosecuting official the request for final disposition is specifically directed. The warden, commissioner of correction or other official having custody
“(e) Any request for final disposition made by a prisoner pursuant to paraghaph (a) hereof shall also be deemed to be a waiver of extradition with respect to any charge or proceeding contemplated thereby or included therein by reason of paragraph (d) hereof, and a waiver of extradition to the receiving state to serve any sentence there imposed upon him, after completion of his term of imprisonment in the sending state. The request for final disposition shall also constitute a consent by the prisoner to the production of his body in any court where his presence may be required in order to effectuate the purposes of this agreement and a further consent voluntarily to be returned to the original place of imprisonment in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the imposition of a concurrent sentence if otherwise permitted by law.
“(f) Escape from custody by the prisoner subsequent to his execution of the request for final disposition referred to in paragraph (a) hereof shall void the request.”
We note that the petitioner's letters to the Superior Courts in Massachusetts and Maine did not invoke the provisions of the IAD, as they did not include a certificate of the “appropriate official having custody of the prisoner” as required by article III (a). Hickey v. State, 349 N.W. 2d 772, 778 (Iowa App. 1984); Coit v. State, 440 So. 2d 409 (Fla. App. 1983); People v. Collins, 85 Ill. App. 3d 1056, 407 N.E.2d 871 (1980). In addition, the petitioner makes no claim that his subsequent letters to Somers officials invoked the notice provisions of article III (a) and (b).
This conclusion necessarily disposes of any discussion concerning the petitioner’s second claim for relief in which he seeks to avoid being transferred to the custody of the Massachusetts authorities.