Runck v. State

• Decision Date: 23 February 1993
• Docket Number: No. 910259,910259
• Parties: Clayton RUNCK, Jr., Petitioner and Appellant, v. STATE of North Dakota, Respondent and Appellee. Civ.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

Page 74

497 N.W.2d 74

Clayton RUNCK, Jr., Petitioner and Appellant, v. STATE of North Dakota, Respondent and Appellee.

Civ. No. 910259.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Feb. 23, 1993.

Brothers & Beauchene, Fargo, for petitioner and appellant; argued by Mark A. Beauchene. Appearance by Clayton Runck, Jr.

John Tainter Goff, State's Atty., Fargo, for respondent and appellee.

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

Clayton Runck, Jr., appeals from district court orders denying his application for post-conviction relief and motions for reconsideration. The district court rejected, among other contentions, Runck's assertion that his August 1986 State court convictions for conspiracy to commit arson and for being an accomplice to arson should be set aside because the State violated the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, Chapter 29-34, N.D.C.C. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

The parties have stipulated to many of the facts. On November 9, 1984, Runck was convicted of a federal offense in United States District Court for the District of North Dakota and was sentenced to a nine-year term of imprisonment. Rather than being sent to a federal correctional institution, Runck was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service and was held in the Cass County jail in Fargo to testify in a pending federal prosecution.

On March 8, 1985, while Runck was still housed in the Cass County jail under authority of the Marshal Service, the State district court issued a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, which stated in part:

"TO THE U.S. MARSHALL (sic), FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA:

"YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to surrender Clayton Runck to Sheriff Donald Rudnick, Cass County, North Dakota, or his duly authorized representative, pursuant to the Affidavit and Order attached hereto." ¹

The affidavit attached to the writ stated:

"James Twomey, being first duly sworn upon oath deposes and states:

"1. That the defendant will be charged with felony criminal offenses in the Cass County Court.

"2. That the defendant is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshall (sic), Fargo, North Dakota;

"WHEREFORE, your affiant prays that the Clerk of District Court be ordered to issue a Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum requesting and commanding the Cass County Sheriff and the U.S. Marshall (sic) to surrender the defendant, Clayton Runck, to the Sheriff of Cass County until such time as the initial proceedings have been completed before the Cass County Court as directed by that Court, and thereafter to return the defendant to the U.S. Marshall (sic)."

The order attached to the writ stated:

"The Court having considered the Affidavit of James Twoemy (sic). Assistant States Attorney for Cass County, North Dakota, and having examined the criminal complaint filed in Cass County Court,

"IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court issue a Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum requesting and commanding the U.S. Marshall (sic) to surrender the said Clayton Runck to the Sheriff of Cass County immediately and until such time that the initial proceedings on the charges to be filed against him have been completed as directed by the Cass County Court and upon the completion of such proceedings to return the defendant to the U.S. Marshall (sic)."

There was an undated complaint in existence when the writ was issued, but the complaint was not yet filed with the county court and it was not served upon the Marshal Service along with the writ, affidavit, and order. The Marshal Service complied with the writ and the State received custody of Runck on March 8, 1985.

On March 12, 1985, a criminal complaint was filed in county court charging Runck, Clinton Kopp, and Terry Kopp with conspiracy to commit arson and being accomplices to arson, relating to an April 1983 fire at the Kopps's home. After Runck secured counsel, Runck and the Kopps had their preliminary hearing in county court on April 23, 1985, and the defendants were bound over on the charges.

The defendants were arraigned in district court on May 14, 1985, and each entered a not guilty plea. During the ensuing months, Runck and the State each filed demands for change of judge and one assigned judge recused himself. During June 1985, Runck filed numerous pretrial motions, including a demand for speedy trial. The request for speedy trial did not specifically mention the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act. On July 17, 1985, this court designated a district court judge to preside over the case, and he set September 20, 1985, as the hearing date for the pretrial motions.

Runck's retained attorney was unable to further participate in the proceedings and Runck obtained the services of another attorney. The district court granted the defendants' motion for a change of venue. Runck and Clinton Kopp's trial was scheduled for January 4, 1986, in Mandan, and Terry Kopp's trial was scheduled for March 4, 1986, also in Mandan. On December 30, 1985, Runck signed an agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit arson in return for dismissal of the other charge and for a specific recommendation for a sentence by the State. However, the plea agreement was conditioned on Runck testifying truthfully at any hearing or trial regarding his or anyone else's involvement in the April 1983 fire. It was also agreed that sentencing would be delayed until the trials of the other defendants were concluded and that the court could order a pre-sentence investigation. The court ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

In January 1986, Runck was returned to the custody of federal authorities, and he was transferred to a federal correctional institution in Oxford, Wisconsin, pending his testimony at Terry Kopp's trial. Clinton Kopp pleaded guilty. On March 7, 1986, Runck was returned from the federal correctional institution to North Dakota to testify at the trial pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum. See State v. Kopp, 419 N.W.2d 169 (N.D.1988). However, Runck refused to testify, asserting his right against self-incrimination, and the court honored his claim of privilege. Runck was then returned to the federal correctional institution.

On April 25, 1986, the State executed and sent to the federal correctional institution in Oxford a "Prosecutor's Acceptance of Temporary Custody Offered in Connection with Defendant's Request for Disposition," which the federal officials treated as a request made pursuant to the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act. On May 9, 1986, the federal correctional institution informed the State that Runck's "detainer papers" had been received, that Runck had invoked the 30-day time constraint under Article IV(1), and that Runck would therefore not be available to the State before June 6, 1986. On June 5, 1986, the State received another of Runck's general motions for dismissal based upon denial of a speedy trial. After Runck was returned to North Dakota, his motion for dismissal was denied. On July 9, 1986, an order was entered formally rejecting Runck's contingent plea agreement. Not guilty pleas were entered to the charges and trial was set for August 12, 1986, in Morton County.

By then, Runck was represented by a different attorney. Although in March and June 1986, Runck and the new attorney discussed possible issues regarding the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, no motion was made raising any of those issues to the court. Runck was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson and of being an accomplice to arson on August 15, 1986, and he was sentenced on each count to concurrent terms of eight years at the State Penitentiary to begin after completion of his federal sentence. Runck was returned to the federal correctional institution at Oxford on October 27, 1986. We affirmed his convictions in State v. Runck, 418 N.W.2d 262 (N.D.1987).

Runck thereafter sought post-conviction relief, asserting several alleged violations of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, ineffective assistance of counsel, and other alleged violations of legal and constitutional rights. Following several hearings on the matter, the trial court denied Runck's application. The court determined that no violation of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act occurred in this case, and that Runck was not denied effective assistance of counsel at trial or on appeal from his criminal convictions. The court also rejected Runck's other asserted grounds for relief and denied his motions for reconsideration. This appeal followed.

I

In 1971, North Dakota enacted the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act [IAD], Chapter 29-34, N.D.C.C. The IAD is a uniform law which has been enacted by 48 states. The federal government, on its own behalf and on behalf of the District of Columbia, adopted the IAD in 1970 [see Pub.L. 91-538, Secs. 1-8, 84 Stat. 1397-1403, 18 U.S.C. Appendix (Dec. 9, 1970) ], and, for purposes of the IAD, the term "state" includes the United States. See Article II(1). The IAD "prescribes procedures by which a prisoner may demand the prompt disposition of charges pending against him in a state other than the one in which he is imprisoned, as well as procedures by which a state may obtain for trial a prisoner who is incarcerated in another state." Annot., Validity, Construction, and Application of Interstate Agreement on Detainers, 98 A.L.R.3d 160, 166 (1980) [footnote omitted].

The IAD is intended to minimize uncertainties which obstruct programs of prisoner treatment and rehabilitation caused by the existence of outstanding charges against a prisoner and detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints in other jurisdictions. See Article I. In Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 449, 101 S.Ct. 703, 712, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981), the Supreme Court recognized that:

" '[A] prisoner who has had a detainer lodged against him is seriously disadvantaged by such action. He is in custody and therefore in no position to seek witnesses or to preserve his...