State Ex Rel. Miller v. CraftState Ex Rel. Miller v. Craft
On April 8, 1976, Buford Miller filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the Thirtieth Judicial District Court alleging that he had been confined in jail for approximately two years in violation of his constitutional rights to a speedy trial, to assistance of counsel, and to due process of law. The district judge granted a writ directed to the sheriff of Vernon Parish and fixed a date for an evidentiary hearing. The sheriff did not appear at the hearing. The district attorney appeared briefly but claimed that the state was not a party to the proceeding. After hearing evidence adduced by defendant, the trial judge took the matter under advisement and subsequently refused to discharge defendant from custody on the ground that he might be dangerous to himself or others and might not be capable of caring for his person. We granted certiorari to review the correctness of this ruling.
The record reveals that warrants of arrest for Buford Miller were issued on April 30, 1974 for resisting arrest and on May 2, 1974 for attempted aggravated burglary. Bail was fixed at $1,000 and $25,000, respectively, for the alleged offenses. On motion of the district attorney, an order was signed by the district judge on May 7, 1974 transferring defendant to the East Louisiana State Hospital at Jackson for the purpose of determining his present mental capacity to stand trial. The order was not directed to any physician in particular and cаlled for a report to be submitted to the court in ninety days.1 Both the testimony of defendant and the record of the proceedings demonstrate that, in fact, defendant was never transferred to East Louisiana State Hospital, that he was never examined, and that no report was ever filed.2 Instead, defendаnt remained incarcerated in the custody of the Vernon Parish sheriff3 without ever having been appointed counsel and without having been charged with a crime. Defendant testified that during this time he complained orally to the deputy in whose custody he was confined about being held
On February 24, 1976, the district attorney notified Mr. John Ford, an attorney from Leesville, Louisiana, that the defendant would be arraigned on February 27, 1976. Mr. Ford testified that on receipt of this letter he examined the record in defendant‘s case with the assistance of the minute clerk for the district court and could find no evidencе that he had ever been appointed to represent defendant in any matter. He further testified that he did not know Miller and had never interviewed him as a client. On February 27, 1976, the district attorney for the first time filed a bill of information charging defendant with aggravated burglary. That same day, an associate of Mr. Ford represented defendant in court; defendant waived arraignment and entered a plea of “not guilty.” Trial was set for March 29, 1976. When the case was called for trial, the court‘s attention was directed to the fact that the question of defendant‘s mental capacity to stand trial had never been disposed of; whеreupon, the trial judge again ordered that defendant be examined. The results of this examination were filed with the court on March 30, 1976. At that time, the state moved to withdraw its motion for an investigation into defendant‘s mental incapacity to proceed made in May of 1974. Defendant objected and requested thаt he be examined by a licensed psychiatrist. Without ruling on these motions, the court ordered that defendant be taken to Byrd Memorial Hospital for an examination and that a report be filed the next day regarding defendant‘s mental capacity to proceed. The court further ruled that it would rely on the written reports of the doctors and refused to subpoena the doctors as requested by defendant. The first examination, conducted by the coroner, Dr. S. J. Jones, resulted in a report that defendant was capable of standing trial but was probably retarded. The second report made by Dr. Edwin H. Byrd of the Byrd Memorial Hоspital, revealed that Miller was disoriented and confused about his imprisonment and recommended that he be sent to a state institution for a full psychiatric work-up. Based on these written reports, the trial judge ruled, on March 31, 1976, that defendant was presently unable to stand trial. He also relieved Mr. Ford of his representation of defendant and appointed Roy B. Tuck, Jr. as defendant‘s new counsel. As aforesaid, Mr. Tuck filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of defendant on April 8, 1976 and presently represents defendant before this court.
Defendant contends the trial judge erred in his ruling in three respects: (1) in failing to find that he had been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial; (2) in declining to rule that he had been denied his constitutional right to assistance of counsel; and (3) in relying upon medical reports in refusing his discharge from custody. Because we find merit in defendant‘s contention that he has been denied а speedy trial, we do not reach the other arguments urged before this court.
The right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions. We have recognized that this right attaches when the defendant becomes an accused, which, in this case, occurred on the date of his arrest. United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 92 S.Ct. 455, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971); State v. Stetson, 317 So.2d 172 (La.1975). In determining whether this constitutional right has been violated, no fixed time period governs; rather, the conduct of both the prosecution and the defense are weighed in the light of several factors: the length of the delay; the reason for the delay; the defendant‘s assertion of his right; and the actuаl prejudice to the defendant. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972); State v. Bullock, 311 So.2d 242 (La.1975).
In our consideration of the first factor to be assessed, the length of the delay,
The second factor to be weighed in determining whether defendant‘s right to a speedy trial has been denied is the reason for the delay in bringing him to trial. At the habeas corpus hearing, the state made nо attempt to introduce evidence which might have explained or excused its failure to prosecute. Defendant, on the other hand, offered evidence that there was ample trial time available to the prosecution had it sought to try his case soon after his arrest. Moreover, it is apрarent from an examination of the record that defendant engaged in none of the dilatory tactics which so often render lengthy delays in the administration of justice excusable. The inordinate delay appears to have been caused solely by the order rendered at the request of the statе on May 7, 1974 for an investigation into defendant‘s mental incapacity. Through oversight or neglect defendant was never examined by a lunacy commission and no report on his mental condition was ever filed in compliance with the May 7 order. Defendant simply remained incarcerated in the custody of the sheriff of Vernon Parish. Although
The third factor to be assessed in the balancing test mandated by Barker is the defendant‘s assertion of his right to a speedy trial. Defendant in this case, an indigent black of questionable mental capacity and without assistance of counsel, was not reasonably in a position to make an effective legal assertion of his constitutional rights. He did, nevertheless, make oral complaints to his jailer concerning his lengthy imprisonment without trial and, with the assistance of a fellow inmate, addressed his grievanсes to a federal district court judge. We are satisfied that, in view of defendant‘s lack of counsel and alleged mental incapacity, his efforts to assert his right to a speedy trial were more than adequate to dispel any claim that he knowingly waived his rights or acquiesced in the state‘s delay in bringing him to trial.
The final factor we must weigh is the actual prejudice suffered by the defendant as a result of the lack of a speedy trial. In Barker, the United States Supreme Court indicated that the question of prejudice must be analyzed in the light of the interests sought to be protected. The Court identified three such interests: (1) to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration; (2) to minimize anxiety and concern on the
After weighing the facts and circumstances of this case in light of the above factors, we conclude that the state has failed to accord defendant, Buford Miller, his constitutional right to a speedy trial. It is now well established that once a violation of the right to a speedy trial is shown, the only remedy availаble is the dismissal of the charge pending against the defendant. Strunk v. United States, 412 U.S. 434, 93 S.Ct. 2260, 37 L.Ed.2d 56 (1973); State v. Bullock, 311 So.2d 242 (La.1975). Accordingly, we hold that defendant cannot now be prosecuted pursuant to the bill of information charging him with aggravated burglary. Moreover, any determination that defendant is not presently capable of standing trial for that offense is similarly without effect.
The state argues in opposition to defendant‘s release from custody that the constitutional claim of denial of a speedy trial was not properly raised by a writ of habeas corpus.
. . . When the question of the defendant‘s mental incapacity to proceed is raised, there shall be no further steps in the сriminal prosecution, except the institution of prosecution, until the defendant is found to have the mental capacity to proceed.
(Emphasis added.) It is clear from the official redaction comments that the purpose of this article was to protect from prejudice a defendаnt who might be incapable of safeguarding his own rights. In no sense can a petition for habeas corpus aimed at securing the defendant‘s release be construed as a “further step in the criminal prosecution.” In any event,
For the reasons assigned, the ruling of the trial judge refusing to discharge the defendant from custody is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Thirtieth Judicial District Court with instructions to the trial judge to dismiss the bill of information charging the defendant with aggravated burglary and, unless he is currently being held on charges for which he may be tried consistent with this opinion, to discharge him from the custody of the sheriff of Vernon Parish.