Holliday v. Com.

• Decision Date: 20 January 1987
• Docket Number: No. 0977-85,0977-85
• Citation: Holliday v. Com., 352 S.E.2d 362, 3 Va.App. 612 (Va. App. 1987)
• Parties: Rico HOLLIDAY v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record
• Court: Virginia Court of Appeals

Page 362

352 S.E.2d 362

3 Va.App. 612

Rico HOLLIDAY v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Record No. 0977-85.

Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Jan. 20, 1987.

Thomas N. Parker, Jr., for appellant.

M. Katharine Spong, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Mary Sue Terry, Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellee.

Present: KOONTZ, C.J., and COLE and HODGES, JJ.

KOONTZ, Chief Judge.

Rico Holliday was tried and convicted on July 24, 1985, pursuant to the provisions of Code § 18.2-55 for causing bodily injury to an employee of Mecklenburg Correctional Center. We have limited this appeal to the sole issue whether Holliday was denied his right to a speedy trial under the sixth amendment of the United States Constitution and article 1, section 8 of the Virginia Constitution. Finding no denial of this right, we affirm.

While approximately sixteen months elapsed from the date the crime was committed until Holliday's trial in the circuit court, for purposes of our review the crucial time period encompasses the approximately ten month period from the date of Holliday's arrest to the date of the trial. During this entire period of time Holliday remained incarcerated.

The crime, which was a felony, occurred on March 23, 1984, while Holliday was an inmate at Mecklenburg Correctional Center. On August 8, 1984, a warrant was issued for Holliday's arrest and was served on him on August 29, 1984. Following three requests for continuances made by the Commonwealth on September 13, 1984, October 11, 1984, and January 11, 1985, respectively, a preliminary hearing was held on March 14, 1985. The district court orders reveal no specific reasons for granting these continuances nor any objections to these continuances made by Holliday.

An attorney was appointed on December 13, 1984, and he was present at the preliminary hearing. While Holliday asserts at oral argument that he raised his speedy trial claim at the preliminary hearing, the district court records are silent on that point. Subsequently, the grand jury returned an indictment on June 17, 1985, and Holliday was brought to trial in the circuit court on July 14, 1985. Immediately prior to trial, Holliday's claim of a denial of his speedy trial right was overruled by the trial court.

At the outset of our analysis of Holliday's speedy trial claim, we note that the legislature of this Commonwealth, consistent with constitutional standards, has prescribed specific periods within which a criminal defendant must be offered a trial. Code § 19.2-243. We have previously addressed the application of this statute in Cantwell v. Commonwealth, 2 Va.App. 606, 347 S.E.2d 523 (1986). The legislative purpose of this limitations statute was to clarify when the right to a speedy trial is infringed and to simplify the courts' application of it. This statute prescribes specific periods of time from either the preliminary hearing or indictment by which the defendant must be brought to trial. Furthermore, it is subordinate to the constitutional right to a speedy trial guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions. Holliday was brought to trial within the time period prescribed by Code § 19.2-243 since less than five months elapsed from the time of the preliminary hearing until the trial was commenced; we will assume that the five month limitation was applicable because during this period Holliday was continuously held in custody. Since the delay of which Holliday complains occurred prior to the preliminary hearing and the issuance of the indictment, the limitation periods of Code § 19.2-243 are not applicable. Holliday's claim, therefore, must be based on the constitutional guarantees of a speedy trial.

Our consideration of the constitutional issues must begin with the recognition, as was pointed out by Justice Poff in Fowlkes v. Commonwealth, 218 Va. 763, 764 n. 2, 240 S.E.2d 662, 663 n. 2 (1978), that the speedy trial guarantee incorporated within the provisions of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776 § 8, was one of the roots of the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution. Accordingly, based on the record before us in this particular case, we review Holliday's constitutional speedy trial claims without distinction under both the federal and state constitutions.

Holliday's constitutional speedy trial claims require a functional analysis of the rights in the context of the particular facts of this case. Such an approach was first set forth in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), where the United States Supreme Court, recognizing the difficulty in evaluating speedy trial claims, adopted a balancing test, in which the conduct of both the prosecution and the defendant is examined. Id. 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192. The Barker Court identified four factors to be assessed by courts in determining whether a particular defendant has been deprived of his speedy trial right: (1) the length of delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) the defendant's assertion of his right; and (4) prejudice to the defendant. Id. The Barker Court further indicated that none of these four factors are regarded as "either a necessary or sufficient condition to the finding of a deprivation of the right of speedy trial" but, rather, "are related factors and must be considered together with such other circumstances as may be relevant." Id. 407 U.S. at 533, 92 S.Ct. at 2193.

United States v. MacDonald, 456 U.S. 1, 102 S.Ct. 1497, 71 L.Ed.2d 696 (1982) provides further guidance for our analysis. There the Supreme Court noted that the sixth amendment right to a speedy trial is not primarily intended to prevent prejudice to the defense caused by the mere passage of time from the commission of the crime until trial; this defense interest is primarily protected by the due process clause and by statutes of limitations.

The speedy trial guarantee is designed to minimize the possibility of lengthy incarceration prior to trial, to reduce the lesser, but nevertheless substantial, impairment of liberty imposed on an accused while released on bail, and to shorten the disruption of life caused by arrest and the presence of unresolved criminal charges.

Id. at 8, 102 S.Ct. at 1502. (emphasis added). In summary, we must examine the particular facts and circumstances surrounding the ten month delay in bringing Holliday to trial measured from the date of his arrest using the "balancing test" of Barker as refined by MacDonald.

I. Length of Delay.

Approximately six months elapsed from the date of Holliday's arrest until the preliminary hearing. Thereafter, another period of approximately four months elapsed until the trial. The five month period that elapsed between the date of the crime and the date of the arrest is not counted in evaluating sixth amendment claims to a speedy trial. "[T]he Sixth Amendment does not apply to the period before a defendant is indicted, arrested, or otherwise officially accused." MacDonald, 456 U.S. at 6, 102 S.Ct. at 1501.

"When the delay is so protracted as to be 'presumptively prejudicial', the first factor becomes a 'triggering mechanism' which necessitates 'inquiry into the other factors that go into the balance.' " Fowlkes, 218 Va. at 766, 240 S.E.2d, at 664 (citing Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192). The Commonwealth argues that a ten month delay was not unduly long and accordingly that an inquiry into the other Barker factors is not "triggered." We disagree. Where, as here, the accused is continuously held in custody and available for trial and the Commonwealth has secured continuances resulting in a ten month delay from arrest to trial, a further inquiry is mandated.

II. Reason for Delay.

"[W]hen a defendant challenges the delay as unreasonable, the burden devolves upon the Commonwealth to show, first, what delay was attributable to the defendant and not to be counted against the Commonwealth and, second, what part of any delay attributable to the prosecution was justifiable." Fowlkes, 218 Va. at 767, 240 S.E.2d at 664.

The Commonwealth, in its brief, asserts that the hostage situation at Mecklenburg Correctional Center was in part responsible for the delay because Holliday, who was involved in that crisis, had to be moved to a different facility for a "cooling off" period. There is a brief reference to this situation in the record, but details are missing. Holliday, at oral argument, did not contest the existence of such a situation. Nevertheless, we do not believe that the conditions at Mecklenburg should be weighed against Holliday because the Commonwealth does not maintain that Holliday caused or contributed to the disturbances at Mecklenburg or that the conditions at the facility actually prevented an earlier trial date for him.

The record does reflect that the preliminary hearing was continued three times on motions made by the Commonwealth. The record is silent as to the reason for these continuances and does not reflect that they were granted over Holliday's objection. We confine our review to the record that comes before us. "[W]ithout anything in a court order or elsewhere in the record to show that the defendant agreed to or concurred in the delay of his trial, the delay must be attributed to the Commonwealth...." Godfrey v. Commonwealth, 227 Va. 460, 463, 317 S.E.2d 781, 783 (1984) (citing Walker v. Commonwealth, 225 Va. 5, 11-12, 301 S.E.2d 28, 31 (1983)).

The Commonwealth maintains that if the delay is attributed to it, its action should not be weighed "heavily" in the Barker balancing test as there is no indication of deliberate misconduct by the prosecution. We agree. The Barker Court noted that different weights should be assigned to different reasons for delay.

A deliberate attempt to delay the trial in order to hamper the defense should be weighted heavily against the government. A more neutral reason such as negligence or overcrowded courts should be weighted less heavily but nevertheless should be considered since the ultimate...