Hart v. State, 273S30

Decision Date27 February 1973
Docket NumberNo. 273S30,273S30
PartiesJames HART, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee.
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

HUNTER, Justice.

This cause is before us on a Petition to Transfer from the Court of Appeals. It arises out of the criminal prosecution of the Petitioner, James Hart. He was initially charged on April 10, 1969, was eventually tried and convicted of Entering to Commit a Felony and Theft, and on July 26, 1971, was sentenced to concurrent one to ten year terms of imprisonment. An appeal was perfected to the Court of Appeals which affirmed the conviction in an opinion filed August 1, 1972. See Hart v. State (1972), 285 N.E.2d 676. After his Petition for Rehearing was denied, Hart filed a Petition to Transfer with the Supreme Court of Indiana. The issue raised in the Petition is whether Hart was denied a speedy trial. The Court of Appeals held he was not. Hart contends that the Court of Appeals decision contravenes the ruling precedent established in Fossey v. State (1970), 254 Ind. 173, 258 N.E.2d 616, and Smeltzer v. State (1970), 254 Ind. 165, 258 N.E.2d 647.

The facts on this issue are as follows: The crime occurred on April 7, 1969, and charges were filed against the defendant on April 10, 1969. The defendant Hart, who was also wanted in Florida, was captured in California. On January 15, 1970, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department sent a letter to the San Francisco Police informing them that the defendant was wanted in Indiana. The defendant was returned to Florida on January 29, 1970. On February 16, 1970, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department received a letter from Florida stating that they had received the warrant from Indiana and placed it against the defendant as a detainer.

On March 10, 1970, the defendant learned of the Indiana charges filed against him. He then hired a jailhouse lawyer and with his aid composed a Motion for a Speedy Trial. Defendant signed the motion, had it notarized, and sent copies to the Morgan Circuit Court and to the county prosecutor. The motion was dated March 16, 1970. The motion should have been sent to the Morgan Superior Court instead of the Circuit Court, and the motion was apparently lost in the Circuit Court. The former prosecutor, who was in the office until January 1, 1971, did not remember receiving the motion. However, the current prosecutor indicated that he found the motion in the defendant's file. It therefore seems clear that the motion was received by the prosecutor's office. Neither the prosecutor nor the County Sheriff knew of any attempt to bring the defendant back from Florida between February or March of 1970 and April of 1971, over a year from the time they learned of the defendant's incarceration in Flroida and over a year from the time they received notice of the defendant's request for a speedy trial. On April 12, 1971, the Morgan County Sheriff received a letter from Florida officials indicating that the defendant was to be released on April 30, 1971. At this point steps toward extradition were taken.

On May 6, 1971, Hart waived extradition and was returned to Morgan County for trial. On June 7, 1971, the defendant filed a Motion for Discharge under CR. 4 because the Stae failed to make any effort to bring defendant to trial for over a year after receiving the Motion for Speedy Trial. After a hearing the Motion for Discharge was overruled.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the Motion for Discharge. The two bases for the affirmance were that the defendant did not demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the delay and that he filed his motion in the wrong court.

The standards for a speedy trial when the accused is incarcerated outside the State were established in Fossey v. State, supra, and Smeltzer v. State, supra. The question is whether the State, after a demand for a speedy trial by the accused incarcerated out of state, makes a diligent and good faith effort to bring the accused before the trial court. The major factors to consider are:

'(1) the length of time which transpires between the demand by the accused for a speedy trial, and the initiation of action by the proper authorities in this Stae to bring him to trial;

(2) the procedures followed by the State of Indiana in seeking the release of the accused from the jurisdiction in which he is incarcerated; and

(3) the compliance by the officials of the State of Indiana with the pertinent statutory provisions of the law of this state and of the incarcerating jurisdiction.' Smeltzer, supra, 254 Ind. at 169--170, 258 N.E.2d at 650.

See also Fossey, supra, 254 Ind. at 180--181, 258 N.E.2d at 620. The important factor in the case at bar is that no attempt was made to bring the defendant before the trial court for over a year after the receipt of a Motion for Speedy Trial. In fact, no action...

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14 cases
  • Sharpe v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • November 29, 1977
    ...254 Ind. 173, 258 N.E.2d 616. In the latter, it is not a prerequisite to relief that actual prejudice be established, Hart v. State (1973), 260 Ind. 137, 292 N.E.2d 814; but whether and what prejudice is asserted are factors to be considered in the overall determination. Moore v. Arizona (1......
  • Cooley v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • February 16, 1977
    ...a speedy trial, and prejudice to the defendant. Barker v. Wingo (1972), 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101; Hart v. State (1973), 260 Ind. 137, 292 N.E.2d 814; Fossey v. State (1970), 254 Ind. 173, 258 N.E.2d 616; Collins v. State (1975), Ind.App., 321 N.E.2d When an accused is not......
  • Springer v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • February 2, 1978
    ...set forth in Barker v. Wingo, supra, and in Smeltzer and Fossey, supra. The fact that our Indiana Supreme Court decided Hart v. State (1973) Ind., 292 N.E.2d 814 without mention of Barker v. Wingo does not constitute a rejection of the reasoning contained in Barker. In Hart, our Supreme Cou......
  • State v. Laslie
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • October 24, 1978
    ...the State makes a diligent good-faith effort in bringing the accused to trial. In this determination, the court in Hart v. State (1973) 260 Ind. 137, 292 N.E.2d 814, reaffirmed the following '(1) the length of time which transpires between the demand by the accused for a speedy trial, and t......
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