State ex rel. Knotts v. Facemire

• Decision Date: 05 June 2009
• Docket Number: No. 34647.,34647.
• Citation: 678 S.E.2d 847
• Parties: STATE of West Virginia ex rel. James L. KNOTTS, Petitioner v. The Honorable Richard FACEMIRE, Judge of the Circuit Court of Clay County; and The Honorable Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, Special Prosecuting Attorney of Clay County, Respondents.
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court

678 S.E.2d 847

STATE of West Virginia ex rel. James L. KNOTTS, Petitioner v. The Honorable Richard FACEMIRE, Judge of the Circuit Court of Clay County; and The Honorable Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, Special Prosecuting Attorney of Clay County, Respondents.

No. 34647.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted: April 29, 2009.

Filed: June 5, 2009.

Syllabus by the Court

1. "In determining whether to entertain and issue the writ of prohibition for cases not involving an absence of jurisdiction but only where it is claimed that the lower tribunal exceeded its legitimate powers, this Court will examine five factors: (1) whether the party seeking the writ has no other adequate means, such as direct appeal, to obtain the desired relief; (2) whether the petitioner will be damaged or prejudiced in a way that is not correctable on appeal; (3) whether the lower tribunal's order is clearly erroneous as a matter of law; (4) whether the lower tribunal's order is an oft repeated error or manifests persistent disregard for either procedural or substantive law; and (5) whether the lower tribunal's order raises new and important problems or issues of law of first impression. These factors are general guidelines that serve as a useful starting point for determining whether a discretionary writ of prohibition should issue. Although all five factors need not be satisfied, it is clear that the third factor, the existence of clear error as a matter of law, should be given substantial weight." Syl. Pt. 4, State ex rel. Hoover v. Berger, 199 W.Va. 12, 483 S.E.2d 12 (1996).

2. To maintain a claim that preindictment delay violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution, the defendant must show actual prejudice. To the extent our prior decisions in State ex rel. Leonard v. Hey, 269 S.E.2d 394 (W.Va.1980), Hundley v. Ashworth, 181 W.Va. 379, 382 S.E.2d 573 (1989), and their progeny are inconsistent with this holding, they are expressly overruled.

3. In determining whether preindictment delay violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution, the initial burden is on the defendant to show that actual prejudice has resulted from the delay. Once that showing has been made, the trial court must then balance the resulting prejudice against the reasonableness of the delay. In balancing these competing interests, the core inquiry is whether the government's decision to prosecute after substantial delay violates fundamental notions of justice or the community's sense of fair play. To the extent our prior decision in Hundley v. Ashworth, 181 W.Va. 379, 382 S.E.2d 573 (1989), and its progeny are inconsistent with this ruling, they are expressly overruled.

4. To demonstrate that preindictment delay violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution, a defendant must introduce substantial evidence of actual prejudice which proves he was meaningfully impaired in his ability to defend against the state's charges to such an extent that the disposition of the criminal proceeding was or will be likely affected.

William Edward ReBrook, III, Michael T. Clifford, Charleston, WV, for Petitioner.

Kelly Hamon McLaughlin, Special Prosecuting Attorney of Clay County, Sutton, WV, for Respondents.

McHUGH, Justice:

Petitioner James L. Knotts seeks a writ of prohibition to prevent a criminal jury trial set before the Circuit Court of Clay County¹ from proceeding based on the lengthy delay between the alleged criminal offenses and the issuance of the indictment predicated on those offenses. Citing the thirteen-year period between when the State was first made aware of the alleged offenses and when it finally decided to charge him,² Petitioner argues that the delay constitutes a violation of his due process rights.³ In explanation of the lengthy delay, the State asserts that the alleged victim's parents did not want this matter prosecuted due to the young age of their daughter. Upon our careful review of this matter in conjunction with existing law, we issue a writ of prohibition as moulded below.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On July 15, 2008, the grand jury sitting in Clay County returned an indictment against Petitioner containing 129 counts of sexual assault-related offenses.⁴ In the indictment, the State alleges that the first offense occurred on March 16, 1991, and the final offense on March 18, 1994. Witness statements obtained during discovery purportedly demonstrate that both the Sheriff of Clay County, Clarence Douglas, and the Prosecuting Attorney, Jeff Davis, had knowledge in 1995 of the allegations that are averred in the indictment.

On or about September 13, 2006, Trooper J.T. Portillo of the West Virginia State Police initiated a criminal investigation regarding an alleged unrelated sexual assault by the Petitioner against Petitioner's niece, J.N.⁵ During this investigation, Trooper Portillo learned that Petitioner had previously been accused of sexually abusing a different niece, Allison Nicholas. Based on the decision of Ms. Nicholas, now an adult, to cooperate with the State's investigation, Petitioner was arrested and subsequently indicted.

Petitioner filed a motion to quash the indictment based on the lengthy delay between when the State had actual knowledge of the offenses allegedly committed by Petitioner against his niece, Ms. Nicholas, and when the State finally decided to charge him with those offenses. During a hearing before the trial court on January 5, 2009, Petitioner's counsel related that certain evidentiary items critical to Petitioner's defense are unavailable due to the protracted period of time since the alleged offenses took place. After hearing argument of counsel on the issue of prejudicial delay, the trial court denied the motion to quash.⁶ Through this petition for a writ of prohibition, Petitioner seeks relief from the trial court's decision to permit the trial in this matter to proceed.

II. Standard of Review

In syllabus point four of State ex rel. Hoover v. Berger, 199 W.Va. 12, 483 S.E.2d 12 (1996), we announced the standard by which we determine whether a trial court has exceeded its jurisdiction:

In determining whether to entertain and issue the writ of prohibition for cases not involving an absence of jurisdiction but only where it is claimed that the lower tribunal exceeded its legitimate powers, this Court will examine five factors: (1) whether the party seeking the writ has no other adequate means, such as direct appeal, to obtain the desired relief; (2) whether the petitioner will be damaged or prejudiced in a way that is not correctable on appeal; (3) whether the lower tribunal's order is clearly erroneous as a matter of law; (4) whether the lower tribunal's order is an oft repeated error or manifests persistent disregard for either procedural or substantive law; and (5) whether the lower tribunal's order raises new and important problems or issues of law of first impression. These factors are general guidelines that serve as a useful starting point for determining whether a discretionary writ of prohibition should issue. Although all five factors need not be satisfied, it is clear that the third factor, the existence of clear error as a matter of law, should be given substantial weight.

With these factors in mind, we proceed to determine whether Petitioner has established the necessary grounds for the issuance of a writ of prohibition.

III. Discussion

A. Prior Standard Governing Preindictment Delay

To support his position that the delay between the alleged sexual offenses and the State's decision to prosecute him for those offenses is prejudicial, Petitioner looks to this Court's decision in State ex rel. Leonard v. Hey, 269 S.E.2d 394 (W.Va.1980). When the defendant in Hey became eligible for parole in 1979 following his conviction for offenses arising out of a robbery he committed in 1967, the government sought to charge him with another offense arising from that same robbery.⁷ This Court was asked to consider whether a delay of eleven years between the identification, location, and connection of the defendant with an alleged criminal act and the formal accusation-trial process was prejudicial. Id. at 395. Recognizing that the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial is not implicated in cases where the delay at issue is preindictment,⁸ we observed that "[p]re-arrest or pre-accusatory delays are usually governed by statutes of limitations." Id. at 396. This general rule, however, is tempered by the recognition that "a defendant's due process rights can be violated by a prosecution initiated within the statute [of limitations] but unjustifiably delayed by the government."⁹ Id. at 396.

In deciding Hey, this Court sought guidance from the United States Supreme Court and recognized that the high court had refrained from adopting a "universally applicable" test for resolving when due process is invoked by preindictment delay. 269 S.E.2d at 396; accord U.S. v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783, 796, 97 S.Ct. 2044, 52 L.Ed.2d 752 (1977) (confirming inability to identify "in the abstract circumstances ... [under] which preaccusation delay would require dismissing prosecutions"). Citing the seminal decision of U.S. v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 92 S.Ct. 455, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971), we discussed how these cases require a balancing of interests: "To accommodate the sound administration of justice to the rights of the defendant to a fair trial will necessarily involve a delicate judgment based on the circumstances of each case." Hey, 269 S.E.2d at 396 (citing Marion, 404 U.S. at 325, 92 S.Ct. 455). Despite the lack of a bright line test, the United States Supreme Court did identify what is often referred to as the Marion test in...