Marzilli v. Howard
| Decision Date | 18 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 1250-M,1250-M |
| Citation | 108 R.I. 309,274 A.2d 902 |
| Parties | Daniel H. MARZILLI v. Francis A. HOWARD, Warden. P. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
On May 26, 1970, Daniel H. Marzilli was arraigned in the Superior Court on two indictments each of which charged him with murder. After pleading not guilty to each indictment, and requesting a speedy trial, he was held without bail and committed to the Adult Correctional Institutions where he has since been confined. He is before us on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus asking alternatively either to be discharged from restraint and to have the indictments against him dismissed or to be admitted to bail.
The constitution of this state in article I, section 10, guarantees an accused the right to enjoy a speedy trial. That guarantee was implemented by the Legislature in G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-13-7, a section which provides, insofar as here pertinent, that a person indicted for treason against the state, murder, robbery, rape, arson or burglary shall, if he demand a trial, be tried or bailed within six months after the time he pleads to that indictment.
In this state, as is true generally in other states, the guarantee of the right to enjoy a speedy trial, either under the constitution or the implementing legislation, is not without qualifications. One is that the right may be waived by a failure to assert it. Ramsdell v. Langlois,100 R.I. 468, 471, 217 A.2d 83, 86; Orabona v. Linscott, 49 R.I. 443, 445, 144 A. 52, 53; In re Deslovers, 35 R.I. 248, 251, 86 A. 657, 658, aff'd on rehearing, 35 R.I. 256, 86 A. 659. Another makes the right dependent on whether any undue delay in granting the request for a trial is attributable to the conduct of the accused. Ramsdell v. Longlois, supra; In re Desolvers, supra. In any event, whether the delay is so unreasonable as to amount to an infraction of the right and, therefore, to require a consequent dismissal of the indictment depends upon all of the circumstances. Ramsdell v. Langlois, supra.
In this case during the more than six months which have intervened since the indictments were pleaded to and a prompt trial asked for, petitioner has at various times initiated a series of pre-trial procedures. Some were designed to achieve an immediate dismissal of the indictments; others to elicit information which hopefully would better enable him to defend against those indictments. Included were motions for a bill of particulars, for discovery, to quash the indictments, for access to the names of material witnesses, for a change of venue, for production and inspection of tangible evidence, and for production of records. Some of those motions and requests were not made until after the instant habeas petition had been filed; and at least one was pending in the Superior Court when this case was argued in this court. In addition, at the time of the commencement of this proceeding there was pending in this court a separate proceeding which raised the question of whether petitioner had a right of access to records in the possession of the Department of Social Welfare relating to the administration of public assistance, those records having been represented by him to be essential to the preparation of his defense. That proceeding has since been resolved. Marzilli v. Giorgio, R.I., 273 A.2d 309.
On the foregoing record it appears that the failure to...
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State v. Palmigiano
...pretrial maneuverings, we must look upon the claim of constitutional infringement with a somewhat jaundiced eye. Marzilli v. Howard, 108 R.I. 309, 274 A.2d 902 (1971). It is interesting to note that Palmigiano made no assertion of his sixth amendment right until his effort to be released on......
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Tate v. Howard
...previously denied bail after a so-called Taglianetti hearing because the state has presented evidence of his guilt. Marzilli v. Howard, 108 R.I. 309, 274 A.2d 902 (1971).8 The Public Defender is required by § 12-15-3 to devote his full time to the duties of his office.9 One of the referenda......
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State v. McDonough
...such an inquiry is necessarily dependent upon the peculiar circumstances of the case. As this court said in Marzilli v. Howard, 108 R.I. 309, 311, 274 A.2d 902, 903 (1971), '* * * whether the delay is so unreasonable as to amount to an infraction of the right and, therefore, to require a co......
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