Dalton v. State

• Decision Date: 01 September 1990
• Docket Number: No. 860,860
• Parties: Billy Dale DALTON v. STATE of Maryland. ,
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 673

87 Md.App. 673

591 A.2d 531

Billy Dale DALTON v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 860, Sept. Term, 1990.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

June 26, 1991.

Karen L. Jones, Wynee Hawk and Stuart L. Alison, Bel Air, for appellant.

Tarra R. Minnis, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baltimore, and Joseph I. Cassily, State's Atty. for Harford County, Bel Air, on the brief), for appellee.

Submitted before GARRITY and ROSALYN B. BELL, JJ., and H. KEMP MacDANIEL (retired, Specially Assigned), Judge.

GARRITY, Judge.

The appellant, Billy Dale Dalton, was convicted at a bench trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County (Whitfill, J.) of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, attempted murder, and assault and battery. The latter conviction merged into the conviction for attempted murder. Having been sentenced consecutively to 30 years for attempted murder and 20 years for the use of a handgun, he brings this appeal from the judgments entered on those convictions, raising the following issues for our review:

I. Whether the seven month and twenty-nine day delay in bringing his case to trial denied his right to a prompt trial guaranteed by Art. 27 § 591 and Md. Rule 4-271.

II. Whether the delay violated his Constitutional right to a speedy trial.

III. Whether the lower court found that the appellant possessed a specific intent to kill.

IV. Whether the lower court erred in finding the appellant guilty of use of a handgun in the commission of a felony or crime of violence.

FACTS

The appellant was arrested and served with an indictment on March 29, 1989. Later that same day, he was released on bail.

On May 23, 1989, the appellant made his first appearance before the circuit court and was arraigned. One day earlier, on May 22, the State had filed a motion to reconsider the appellant's bail upon learning that he had been charged with committing an unrelated offense on April 28, 1989.

As a result of the appellant's failure to appear at the bond review hearing, a bench warrant was issued on June 16, 1989. The record indicates that the appellant had absented himself from Maryland and did not return until July 19, when he was served with a bench warrant. ¹ Shortly thereafter, at a bond hearing on July 25, the appellant's bail was revoked, and he remained incarcerated until trial.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin on July 26, 1989. The docket entries reflect that the case was postponed on that date for good cause and with the approval of the administrative judge. The case was rescheduled for trial on October 4, 1989. On September 15, 1989, at a motions hearing, the State advised that appellant's trial "probably wouldn't be reached on October 4th for a variety of reasons," including the following:

[PROSECUTOR]: First, it is my understanding that, of course, we have a limited number of judges and available jurors. It is my understanding that there is a murder trial starting on the 28th. That would be State v. Powell. I think also there is another murder trial scheduled to start late in September with Joe Cassilly prosecuting. It is the one with the young baby that was killed. Also, Judge Waldron's got a protracted custody, I believe, battle, which, I think, is scheduled all the way up to October 3rd. Could go longer than that. I think he requested a desk day because it has been four weeks trying that thing, which would leave us with one judge if that scenario is borne out.

Also on my particular docket this is not the oldest case. I have got other felony cases which may get tried before it that are older than that.

No postponement was requested at that time.

On October 4, 1989, the State requested a postponement. The administrative judge, finding that neither a judge nor a jury was available to hear the case, granted the postponement over the appellant's objection and the trial was rescheduled for November 27, 1989.

On November 27, the appellant filed another motion to dismiss the indictment on speedy trial grounds. The motion was denied and the trial began the following day, November 28, 1989. Near the end of the first day, appellant learned that the victim, Alex Bushong, was not present at trial. ² The record reflects that on November 7, Mr. Bushong had been admitted to a mental health facility in York, Pennsylvania for depression and detoxification. In a letter dated November 21, Mr. Bushong's doctor advised that "[Mr. Bushong's] appearance in Court for testimony at present would adversely affect his mental status."

Upon learning of Mr. Bushong's absence, the appellant orally renewed his motion to dismiss, arguing that he had been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial. Defense counsel proffered that Mr. Bushong's testimony would be favorable to the appellant because the victim would have testified that the shooting was accidental and that the appellant had not intended to kill him. ³ The court denied the motion and the trial proceeded to a finding of guilt.

I. Art. 27, § 591, and Md.Rule 4-271

The appellant contends that the October 4, 1989 postponement violated his right to a prompt trial as guaranteed by Art. 27 § 591 and Md.Rule 4-271. Basing this contention on a two-pronged argument, the appellant asserts, initially, that the October 4 postponement, which extended the trial date to a time more than 180 days after the appellant had first appeared before the court, lacked good cause. The second prong of the appellant's argument is that the administrative judge did not set the new trial date with due diligence.

Md.Rule 4-271 mandates that a trial date in circuit court shall not be later than 180 days after either the appearance of counsel, or the defendant's first appearance before the circuit court, whichever is the first to occur. Md.Rule 4-271(a); State v. Hicks, 285 Md. 310, 403 A.2d 356 (1979). Failure to comply with the 180-day rule may result in dismissal of the charges with prejudice unless the postponement beyond the 180-day period is for good cause and is approved by the county administrative judge or designee. Md.Rule 4-271(a).

Although somewhat parallel to the constitutional right to a speedy trial, the statutory right has a different animus. State v. Farinholt, 54 Md.App. 124, 130, 458 A.2d 442 (1983), aff'd, 299 Md. 32, 472 A.2d 452 (1984). ⁴ The fundamental goal served by the statutory right is furthering the public interest in avoiding harm resulting from unjustifiable delays and excessive postponements in criminal trials. Id.; see also State v. Frazier, 298 Md. 422, 456 n. 26, 470 A.2d 1269 (1984) (citation omitted). Benefits inuring to defendants from the rule are "incidental." Marks v. State, 84 Md.App. 269, 277, 578 A.2d 828 (1990), cert. denied, 321 Md. 502, 583 A.2d 275 (1991). The Constitution, on the other hand, focuses more upon the prejudice an accused may suffer as a result of delay. ⁵

Rule 4-271 commits the determination that there is good cause to extend the trial date beyond the 180-day period to the court's discretion. Marks, 84 Md.App. at 277, 578 A.2d 828. (citations omitted). The good cause determination carries a heavy presumption of validity. Id. Consequently, to prevail, the appellant must demonstrate that the postponement was a clear abuse of discretion. Frazier, 298 Md. at 462, 470 A.2d 1269.

At the hearing on October 4, the administrative judge postponed the case, basing the good cause determination on the unavailability of a judge and jury. To support his contention that the lower court's decision to postpone the case was not supported by good cause, the appellant argues that the postponement could have been avoided because the office of the Harford County State's Attorney, who is responsible for scheduling criminal trials, could have scheduled the trial for a date within the 180-day period.

Recognizing that Rule 4-271 attempts to "offer the courts some leeway in the disposition of an extremely heavy caseload," the Court of Appeals held that unavailability of a court and jury occasioned by an overcrowded docket may justify delaying a trial beyond the 180-day period. State v. Frazier, 298 Md. 422, 461-462, 470 A.2d 1269 (1984) (quoting testimony before House Judiciary Committee, February 12, 1980 H.B. No. 205). See also State v. Pennington, 299 Md. 23, 29-30, 472 A.2d 447 (1984) (postponement beyond 180-day period because of congested docket insufficient, by itself, to demonstrate violation).

The appellant has not demonstrated that the administrative judge's decision to postpone the trial date was a clear abuse of discretion. The record reflects that the administrate judge granted the postponement on October 4 because there was no judge or jury available. Viewed in light of this exigency, any control the Harford County State's Attorney may have over scheduling criminal trials is irrelevant, unless there was some evidence of dilatory conduct on the part of the State. Because there is no evidence of such conduct, the administrative judge's good cause finding is adequately supported by the record. ⁶

Having established a valid postponement, the only remaining question is whether the length of the postponement was a clear abuse of discretion. If a case has been postponed for good cause, it "may yet run afoul of the statute and rule if, after a valid postponement, there is inordinate delay in bringing the case to trial...." State v. Cook, 322 Md. 93, 98-99, 585 A.2d 833 (1991) (quoting Rosenbach v. State, 314 Md. 473, 479, 551 A.2d 460 (1989)).

An administrative judge is not required to insure that a new date is set within the 180-day period. Cook, 322 Md. at 108, 585 A.2d 833. Thus, a postponement beyond that period does not necessarily constitute an inordinate delay. Id. In the instant case, appellant's case came to trial on the eighth day after the expiration of the 180-day period. In light of the judicial gloss we have given to Rule 4-271, a delay of merely eight days is not inordinate. See Cook...