Commonwealth v. Smith

• Decision Date: 01 February 1990
• Citation: 524 Pa. 72,569 A.2d 337
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Levi SMITH, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

569 A.2d 337

524 Pa. 72

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Levi SMITH, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

February 1, 1990

Argued Jan. 17, 1989.

John W. Packel, Philadelphia, Chief, Appeals Div Leonard N. Sosnou, for appellant.

Gaele McLaughlin Barthold, Deputy Dist. Atty., Ronald Eisenberg Philadelphia, Chief, Appeals Div., Karen Grigsby, for appellee.

Before NIX C.J., and LARSEN, FLAHERTY, McDERMOTT, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS and STOUT, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

PAPADAKOS Justice.

Appellant raises two issues for our review: (1) whether he was deprived of a speedy trial guaranteed by Pa.R. Crim.P. 1100 as well as by constitutional requirements; and (2) whether the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a weapon recovered from his coat pocket.

Appellant and a confederate were arrested on January 4, 1985, and charged with the pistol-beating robbery of $200.00 from a garage attendant. Appellant Smith was tried by a jury on July 16, 1986, and a verdict of guilty was returned on each of the charges of robbery, possession of instruments of crime, and criminal conspiracy. He was sentenced to prison for concurrent terms of twenty-eight months to fifty-six months each for robbery and possession of instruments of crime. An additional three years probation (consecutive) was imposed for criminal conspiracy. Appellant also was directed to receive psychiatric treatment for alcoholism and related problems tied to his record of violent crimes.

A. Speedy Trial Issue

The first issue to be considered is whether the judicial delay of 555 days between his arrest and trial constitutes a violation of his speedy trial rights. At all times, it should be emphasized, the delays in this case were caused by back-logged, individualized court calendars. Appellant specifically urges us to find that the length of the delay is itself improper and is exacerbated further by his allegation that his case could have been assigned to other less-occupied jurists for earlier trial, thereby making the delay even more indefensible under the law.

The mechanical run date for trial was July 1, 1985. Following his arrest, however, there were two brief delays prior to the preliminary hearing on March 15, 1985. The case was assigned to Judge Eugene H. Clark who, on April 11, 1985, determined that because of the unavailability of a defense counsel until June 3, 1985, the case would be put in his ready pool for trial on that date. When it became apparent that Judge Clark's docket was overcrowded and would prevent the case from being heard on June 3, 1985, the Commonwealth filed a timely and successful motion to extend.

On December 18, 1985, Appellant filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus, alleging a violation of his speedy trial rights. An evidentiary hearing then was held on January 17, 1986, before Judge William J. Mazzola who denied the petition after deciding that the failure to try the case was excusable because of the backlog of Judge Clarke's caseload. Judge Mazzola also established that the case likely would be heard in the period May-July, 1986. The case then was reassigned to Judge Moss.

Although Judge Moss held a pre-trial conference on May 23, 1986, she listed the case for June 18, 1986, her earliest open date. On that date, nevertheless, the judge's calendar once again forced a continuance of the trial until July 14, 1986, when a suppression hearing finally was held, and once again Appellant's motion to dismiss on Rule 1100 grounds was denied. ^[1] Trial began on July 16, 1986. There is no dispute on the record that the Commonwealth filed timely motions to continue at each required point in this case.

Here the Commonwealth was duly diligent in its own efforts, but the delay was beyond its control. Our review, therefore, concentrates on the question of whether the trial court violated Appellant's speedy trial rights.

Rule 1100 was adopted by us in Commonwealth v. Hamilton, 449 Pa. 297, 297 A.2d 127 (1972), pursuant to our supervisory powers. According to Hamilton, the rule is intended to reduce the backlog of cases awaiting trial and to "formulate a rule of criminal procedure fixing a maximum time limit" to bring an accused to trial. Id., at 308, 297 A.2d at 133. Hamilton thereby explicitly incorporated the "fixed time" proviso of Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2192, 33 L.Ed.2d 101, 116 (1972). The mandatory time requirement was designed to encourage both the prosecution and the judiciary to act promptly in criminal cases and to establish an objective time limit for their guidance.

The apparent simplicity of a 180-day rule, nevertheless, has been belied over the years by repeated efforts on the part of our judiciary to define with any precision just how long is too long and which factors count in tolling the legal odometer. In the case at bar, we are asked by the Appellant to find that the trial court failed to reassign the case in a speedy manner but rather adhered to an excessive degree to a rigid, backlogged, individualized calendar system. ^[2]

We are being asked to find, furthermore, that lengthy delays beyond the prescribed period which are caused by court congestion violate the provisions of the speedy trial rule. In support of his contention, Appellant points to the fact that following administrative assignment of his case to Judge Moss, he was tried promptly. His obvious point is that the reassignment should have occurred early enough to satisfy the rule and that such a lengthy delay as did occur cannot be justified.

The rule in this Commonwealth, which we are being urged to overturn, is that our courts are under no obligation to rearrange their dockets in such circumstances. Our seminal case on this subject is Commonwealth v. Mayfield, 469 Pa. 214, 364 A.2d 1345 (1976), which was based both on Hamilton and Barker v. Wingo. Adopting first the A.B.A. recommendation that calendaring of cases lies within the power and responsibility of the trial court, the Mayfield court rejected the Superior Court's decision that any judicial delay was per se error:

The Superior Court, concluding that rule 1100 was intended to promote prompt action by the courts as well as by the prosecution, held that delays attributable to court administration could never justify an extension under rule 1100(c). The rule, however, was not intended to create such an inflexible result. This Court is aware that, despite diligent efforts by the trial courts, cases may arise when a trial of a defendant cannot be held within the prescribed period. In such circumstances, the policies which prompted the adoption of rule 1100 would not be served by disallowing a reasonable, limited exception specifying "the date or period within which trial shall be commenced." Pa.R.Crim.P. 1100(c). The rule recognizes that "due diligence" is the most that should be demanded from the prosecutor and that if despite such efforts, he cannot prepare for trial within the prescribed period, an extension is permissible. No more rigid result under our present rule is justified when the inability of a trial court to proceed within the prescribed period is at issue.

469 Pa. at 220, 364 A.2d 1345.

Commonwealth v. Crowley, 502 Pa. 393, 466 A.2d 1009 (1983), later also construed Mayfield as not requiring an exhaustion of "the possibility of rearranging overcrowded dockets to accommodate Rule 1100 run dates." Moreover, although a court must cite the reasons for its delay, the majority concluded that:

A rigid requirement that the Courts of Common Pleas, particularly in urban areas with severely crowded criminal and civil dockets, must continually arrange and rearrange their schedules to accommodate the 180 day rule, would be ill-advised.

It may be possible, in an abstract sense, to arrange a crowded court calendar to insure that every criminal defendant is tried within 180 days. However, such a rigid system requires eliminating a realistic mechanism for scheduling civil cases, or giving weight to those who await trial in prison for lack of bail.

Id., 502 Pa. at 400-401, 466 A.2d 1009.

Any per se rule:

Ignores the realities of crowded criminal and civil dockets which overburdened Common Pleas courts must deal with on a day-to-day basis. Rule 1100 was designed to promote the administration of criminal justice within the context of our entire judicial system, not to render that system hostage to its own closed logic. The goals of efficiency and ease of administration which Rule 1100 serves are worthy; they should not be exalted at the expense of justice. Thus, in interpreting our Rule 1100, we must throw away the stopwatch and pick up the scales of justice. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Blady, 492 Pa. 285, 424 A.2d 864 (1980) (dissenting opinion, Larsen, J., in which Flaherty, J. joined).

Rule 1100 should not be construed to require Common Pleas Courts with backlogged criminal dockets to devote all their administrative and judicial resources to guarantee that every defendant is tried within the period prescribed by the Rule. It should be sufficient for the court to establish that it has devoted a reasonable amount of its resources to the criminal docket and that it scheduled the criminal trial at the earliest possible date consistent with the court's business. (Citations omitted).

Id., 502 Pa. at 402-403, 466 A.2d 1009.

In Commonwealth v. Terfinko, 504 Pa. 385, 474 A.2d 275 (1984), we reached a similar determination by following these precedents. As noted, we have rejected all suggestions that under our law the trial court must demonstrate that another judge could not have heard the case before the run date.

In addition to asserting that the Commonwealth did not comply with Rule 1100, Appellant also alleges that the length and reasons for his...