U.S. v. Tinklenberg
| Decision Date | 03 September 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-2646.,06-2646. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jason Louis TINKLENBERG, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
ARGUED: Kevin M. Schad, Schad & Schad, Lebanon, Ohio, for Appellant. Julie Ann Woods, Assistant United States Attorney, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Kevin M. Schad, Schad & Schad, Lebanon, Ohio, for Appellant. Julie Ann Woods, Assistant United States Attorney, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. Jason Louis Tinklenberg, Kalamazoo, Michigan, pro se.
Before KEITH, CLAY, and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges.
CLAY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which KEITH, J., joined. GIBBONS, J. (pp. 601-03), delivered a separate concurring opinion.
Defendant-Appellant Jason Louis Tinklenberg ("Tinklenberg") appeals his conviction and sentence after a jury found him guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and two counts of possessing material to manufacture methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843. On appeal, Tinklenberg contends that the district court improperly denied his motion to dismiss the indictment, because his trial began after the deadline imposed by the Speedy Trial Act. Tinklenberg also challenges the district court's subsequent finding that he violated the terms of his supervised release, as well as the reasonableness of his ensuing prison sentence. Because Tinklenberg's trial violated the Speedy Trial Act, we REVERSE Tinklenberg's conviction and REMAND with instructions to dismiss his indictment with prejudice.
On October 20, 2005, the government charged Tinklenberg in an indictment in the Western District of Michigan with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of possessing items used to manufacture methamphetamine. At Tinklenberg's initial appearance on October 31, 2005, a magistrate judge ordered him detained, and scheduled an arraignment hearing for November 2, 2005. On November 2, 2005, prior to his scheduled arraignment, Tinklenberg moved to receive a psychological evaluation for competency to stand trial. That day, instead of arraigning Tinklenberg, the magistrate judge granted Tinklenberg's motion, committing Tinklenberg "for a period not to exceed 30 days for placement in an appropriate facility" for psychological evaluation. (ROA at 4, 36.) Tinklenberg was transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago (the "MCC") for testing.
On December 16, 2005, the government requested a thirty day extension of time to complete Tinklenberg's psychological evaluation, stating in its motion that the prison psychiatrist responsible for evaluating Tinklenberg had reported that Tinklenberg "was not cooperating in the effort to evaluate him." (ROA at 38-39.) On December 20, 2005, the district court granted the government's request for an extension, and ordered that Tinklenberg's trial be held in abeyance until his psychological evaluation was completed. On December 28, 2005, the magistrate judge set a deadline of February 13, 2006 for completion of the testing. On February 10, 2006, the government requested a second extension of time, until March 13, 2006, for completion of Tinklenberg's evaluation. The government's request stated that the psychiatrist at the MCC had said that he needed an additional four weeks to complete the evaluation, but did not explain the cause of the further delay. On February 17, 2006, the magistrate judge granted the government's second request and set March 13, 2006 as the new deadline for completion of Tinklenberg's evaluation.
On March 20, 2006, the court received the MCC's psychiatric report on Tinklenberg. Enclosed with the MCC's evaluation was a cover letter from the warden of the MCC, which stated that Tinklenberg "was designated to the [MCC] on November 10, 2005, and arrived at the Institution on November 30, 2005." (ROA at 147.) On March 22, 2006, the magistrate judge held a competency hearing, and by order dated March 23, 2006, found Tinklenberg competent to stand trial. On March 23, 2006, the magistrate judge also arraigned Tinklenberg, who pled not guilty to all three counts against him. By order dated March 27, 2006, the district court set the case down for trial on May 30, 2006.
On March 29, 2006, Tinklenberg filed an ex parte petition to receive an independent competency evaluation. On April 17, 2006, the magistrate judge granted Tinklenberg's petition, ordered the independent evaluator to submit his report to the court by May 15, 2006, and stated that "the period of time until Defendant's competency is determined shall be excluded time for the purposes of the Speedy Trial Act[.]" (ROA at 53-54.)
On April 26, 2006, Tinklenberg filed a pro se motion for new counsel, and on May 9, 2006, Tinklenberg's counsel moved to withdraw as Tinklenberg's attorney. Counsel's motion indicated that Tinklenberg would not cooperate with the independent evaluator. The district court once again adjourned the trial date and referred the motions by Tinklenberg and his counsel to the magistrate judge to resolve. On June 7, 2006, the magistrate judge held a hearing on the motions, and, on June 9, 2006, ordered new counsel appointed. With respect to Tinklenberg's competency evaluation, though the magistrate judge's June 9, 2006 order is somewhat ambiguous, it appeared to find Tinklenberg competent, noting that the independent evaluator had concluded as much and that Tinklenberg now opposed the evaluation. The district court then scheduled Tinklenberg's trial for August 15, 2006. On July 25, 2006, the case was reassigned to a new district judge, and the new judge issued an order moving the trial date forward one day, to August 14, 2006.
On August 1, 2006, the government requested permission to conduct a video deposition of a witness. On August 3, 2006, the district court granted the government's motion, but ordered that "[t]he parties shall schedule said deposition posthaste so as not to delay trial." (ROA at 115.) On August 8, 2006, the government filed a request to bring two guns into the courtroom during the trial as evidence, a request the court granted on August 10, 2006.
On August 11, 2006, Tinklenberg moved to dismiss his indictment, claiming that the time required for trying him pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act had lapsed. On August 14, 2006, the morning of trial, the district court denied Tinklenberg's motion, finding that only sixty-nine days had lapsed for the purposes of the Speedy Trial Act.
Tinklenberg's trial began on August 14, 2006, and on August 16, 2006, the jury convicted Tinklenberg on all three counts. On December 13, 2006, the district court sentenced Tinklenberg to thirty-three months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On December 18, 2006, Tinklenberg filed a notice of appeal of his conviction and sentence.
On April 21, 2008, while the appeal of his conviction and sentence was still pending, Tinklenberg was released from prison. On April 28, 2008, Tinklenberg was re-arrested for violating the terms of his supervised release by testing positive for cocaine. On May 16, 2008, the district court held an evidentiary hearing, at which a probation officer testified that on April 23, 2008, he took a urine sample from Tinklenberg that tested positive for cocaine. The government introduced into evidence the lab report showing the test results and Tinklenberg's signed statement admitting to cocaine use. On May 30, 2008, the district court found that Tinklenberg had violated the terms of his supervised release by using cocaine, and sentenced Tinklenberg to fourteen additional months in prison. Tinklenberg timely appealed the additional sentence.
Tinklenberg's challenge to his initial conviction, and his appeals of the finding that he violated his supervised release and the ensuing sentence, were consolidated on appeal.
The Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-74, mandates that "[i]n any case in which a plea of not guilty is entered, the trial of a defendant charged in an information or indictment with the commission of an offense shall commence within seventy days from the filing date (and making public) of the information or indictment, or from the date the defendant has appeared before a judicial officer of the court in which such charge is pending, whichever date last occurs." § 3161(c)(1). The Speedy Trial Act allows exclusions of time from the seventy day rule, including, inter alia,
[a]ny period of delay resulting from other proceedings concerning the defendant, including but not limited to (A) delay resulting from any proceeding, including any examinations, to determine the mental competency or physical capacity of the defendant; ... (D) delay resulting from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion; ... [and] (F) delay resulting from transportation of any defendant from another district, or to and from places of examination or hospitalization, except that any time consumed in excess of ten days from the date an order of removal or an order directing such transportation, and the defendant's arrival at the destination shall be presumed to be unreasonable[.]
§ 3161(h)(1). The defendant bears the burden of proof to show a violation warranting dismissal. § 3162(a)(2). This Court "reviews the district court's interpretation of the Speedy Trial Act de novo and its factual findings for clear error." United States v. Marks, 209 F.3d 577, 586 (6th Cir.2000).
Tinklenberg was indicted on October 20, 2005 and his trial began 287 days later, on August 14, 2006. The district court found that only sixty-nine non-excludable days lapsed during the interval.
The district...
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