Flowers v. WARDEN, CONN. CORRECTIONAL INST.

• Decision Date: 22 January 1988
• Docket Number: Civ. No. H-86-509 (PCD).
• Parties: William FLOWERS v. WARDEN, CONNECTICUT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, SOMERS.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut

677 F. Supp. 1275

William FLOWERS v. WARDEN, CONNECTICUT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, SOMERS.

Civ. No. H-86-509 (PCD).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

January 22, 1988.

Gary Weinberger, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Hartford, Conn., for plaintiff.

Steven M. Sellers, Asst. State's Atty., Wallingford, Conn., for defendant.

RULING RE RECONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDED RULING

DORSEY, District Judge.

In this action for a writ of habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, petitioner seeks to void his state court conviction claiming that, in violation of his sixth amendment right to a speedy trial, the State of Connecticut failed to bring him to trial until almost eighteen months after he was arrested.¹ Magistrate Thomas Smith recommended ("Recommended Ruling") that the petition be denied.²

I. Facts

On February 10, 1981, Lee Jones died in New Britain, Connecticut, "from a single .22 caliber bullet fired through his mouth and into his head." State v. Flowers, 198 Conn. 542, 554, 503 A.2d 1172 (1986). Petitioner was charged with Jones' murder and, on May 9, 1981, was arrested in Florida. He was returned to Connecticut on June 1, 1981. Petitioner was arraigned on June 2, 1981, and indicted on August 21, 1981. Petitioner's trial commenced on November 3, 1982 — seventeen months and twenty-five days after he was arrested and seventeen months and three days after he arrived in Connecticut. He was found guilty on December 28, 1982, and sentenced to not less than twenty-five years in prison.

II. Discussion

The right to a speedy trial is often viewed as simply one more "technicality" which gives greater respect to the rights of the accused than it does to victims. However, the roots of the rule are much deeper; its purpose much more fundamental.

The right to speedy justice dates back to the Assize of Clarendon (1166). Klopfer, 386 U.S. at 223-26, 87 S.Ct. at 993-95. As a viable part of the English common law, the right was transported to the American Colonies. "Today, each of the 50 States guarantees the right to a speedy trial to its citizens."³ Id. at 223, 87 S.Ct. at 993.

As a cornerstone of the exaltation of individual liberty, the Constitution established the presumption that all men are innocent until found guilty. Thus, an accused is entitled to the same rights as are enjoyed by all citizens. "This guarantee is an important safeguard to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial, to minimize anxiety and concern accompanying public accusation and to limit the possibilities that long delay will impair the ability of an accused to defend himself." United States v. Ewell, 383 U.S. 116, 120, 86 S.Ct. 773, 776, 15 L.Ed.2d 627 (1966). A man's liberty is a most valued possession. That liberty is curtailed and clouded so long as an accusation of criminal conduct looms over his head. He should not long be kept in uncertainty as to whether that liberty will be lost or restored. See generally Klopfer, 386 U.S. at 222, 87 S.Ct. at 993; Ewell, 383 U.S. at 120, 86 S.Ct. at 776. The guarantee of a speedy trial, "`one of the most basic rights preserved by our Constitution,'" Smith v. Hooey, 393 U.S. 374, 375, 89 S.Ct. 575, 575, 21 L.Ed.2d 607 (1969), quoting Klopfer, 386 U.S. at 226, 87 S.Ct. at 995, ensures that the curtailment of one's liberty and the anxiety of a public accusation are minimized.

The right to a speedy trial is the right of all citizens, not just the innocent. It attaches at the earlier of indictment or arrest. United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 313, 320, 92 S.Ct. 455, 459, 463, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971). It is a right which is not lessened in retrospect by a finding of guilt.⁴ Indeed, when petitioner exercised his right, he was presumed innocent. What occurred after that exercise is irrelevant to the analysis of whether his right was honored. Only in this manner can each member of society be assured of the equal protection provided by the right. The right protects the individual against undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial.

The right to a speedy trial has several negative consequences to the community if it is violated. Where the accused is held in pretrial detention,⁵ the threat that an accused may go free because of the length of his detainment gives him a bargaining chip in plea negotiations. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 519 n. 7, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2186, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), citing Report of the President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia at 256 (1966). Also, lengthy delay between arrest and punishment mitigates the efficacy of rehabilitation. Id. at 520 n. 10, 92 S.Ct. at 2187 n. 10, citing J. Bentham, The Theory of Legislation 326 (Ogden ed. 1931). And, an accused who cannot make bail contributes to the overcrowding of penal institutions. Id. at n. 11, 92 S.Ct. at n. 11, citing To Establish Justice, To Insure Domestic Tranquility, Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence at 152 (1964). See generally id. at 519-21, 92 S.Ct. at 2186-87.

Perhaps the largest cost to society by the government's failure to honor one's right to a speedy trial is that, if the right has been violated, the defendant cannot be tried, or if tried, must be set free. See Dickey v. Florida, 398 U.S. 30, 90 S.Ct. 1564, 26 L.Ed.2d 26 (1970). Any trial proposed to be conducted after the speedy trial time has elapsed must be stayed. If the trial is conducted after the speedy trial time has elapsed, the trial must be vacated as unlawful, an act of the state done outside its authority. Strunk v. United States, 412 U.S. 434, 439-40, 93 S.Ct. 2260, 2263, 37 L.Ed.2d 56 (1973). In this regard, the right to a speedy trial "is unlike some of the other guarantees of the Sixth Amendment." Id. at 439, 93 S.Ct. at 2263. The right constitutes a limit on the state. Neither monetary compensation nor sentence credit for time served in pretrial detention can replace a denial of this constitutional right. Society will likely pressure for reform of the system before it countenances further abuse.

The right to a speedy trial, however, is not without limitation. By using the word "speedy," the forefathers implicitly realized that the duration of time between a charge of misconduct and a trial necessarily involved a number of factors which made quantification of the right impossible. Indeed, it would be absurd to suggest that, at the moment of an arrest or charge, the state is immediately obligated to assemble a judge and jury to adjudicate the charge. While a state may adopt a specific rule for purposes of defining its own constitution, see Conn.Gen.Stat. § 54-82l, or Congress may statutorily create a specific limit, 18 U.S.C. § 3161, et seq., or courts may impose a specific time frame pursuant to their own supervisory powers, see Barker, 407 U.S. at 530 n. 29, 523, n. 18, 92 S.Ct. at 2192 n. 29, 2188 n. 18, citing Second Circuit Rules Regarding Prompt Disposition of Criminal Cases (1971) (six months), the federal constitutional right to a speedy trial is not subject to precise definition. Id. at 529, 92 S.Ct. at 2191. Moreover, any discussion of the speedy trial right must recognize the right of the state to regulate the lives of its citizens for the preservation of law and order by defining, prohibiting, adjudicating and punishing criminal behavior.

To accommodate both the individual's right to a speedy trial and society's interest in prosecuting criminal misconduct, the Supreme Court has adopted a case-by-case approach requiring the analysis of four factors: "Length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the defendant's assertion of his right, and prejudice to the defendant."⁶ Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192.

A. Length of Delay

"The length of the delay is to some extent a triggering mechanism."⁷ Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192. A de minimis delay merits no consideration. A delay of significant duration is presumptively prejudicial and triggers consideration of the remaining three factors. Furthermore, the length of delay is, itself, relevant — the longer the delay, the more heavily it should be weighed against the government. Terry v. Duckworth, 715 F.2d 1217, 1220 (7th Cir.1983); New Buffalo, 600 F.2d at 377; United States v. Jackson, 542 F.2d 403, 407 (7th Cir.1976); United States v. Macino, 486 F.2d 750, 752 (7th Cir.1973); McCarthy v. Manson, 554 F.Supp. 1275, 1300 (D.Conn.1982), aff'd on other grounds, 714 F.2d 234 (2d Cir.1983).

The magistrate correctly concluded that the nearly eighteen-month delay in bringing petitioner's case to trial was sufficient to trigger consideration of the remaining three factors. Recommended Ruling at 11, citing United States v. Vispi, 545 F.2d 328, 333 (2d Cir.1976) (twenty months); United States v. Avalos, 541 F.2d 1100, 1111 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 970, 97 S.Ct. 1656, 52 L.Ed.2d 363 (1977) (fifteen months); United States v. Graham, 538 F.2d 261, 263 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 925, 97 S.Ct. 327, 50 L.Ed.2d 294 (1976) (twelve months); Spina v. McQuillan, 525 F.2d 813, 818 (2d Cir.1975) (twenty-six months); see also McCarthy, 554 F.Supp. at 1300 (nineteen months); Hadley v. State of Wisconsin, 66 Wis.2d 350, 225 N.W.2d 461 (1975) (eighteen months). Furthermore, although the delay in this case standing alone is not considered a per se violation of petitioner's sixth amendment right, cf. Vispi, 545 F.2d at 333, it is found to be sufficiently substantial that it warrants placing the burden on the state to disprove a violation. New Buffalo, 600 F.2d at 377; McCarthy, 554 F.Supp. at 1300.

B. Assertion of Right

The magistrate correctly concluded that petitioner had frequently and unequivocally asserted his right to a speedy trial. Furthermore, the magistrate's finding of speciousness in the state's argument that petitioner failed to assert his right by neglecting to file a motion to advance, pursuant to Connecticut Practice Book § 979, is likewise correct. Petitioner's motion for a...