State v. Ayers

• Decision Date: 18 January 2006
• Docket Number: No. 9602-30961; A119880.,9602-30961; A119880.
• Citation: 126 P.3d 1241
• Parties: STATE of Oregon, Respondent, v. Yvonne Marie AYERS, Appellant.
• Court: Oregon Supreme Court

Page 1241

126 P.3d 1241

STATE of Oregon, Respondent, v. Yvonne Marie AYERS, Appellant.

No. 9602-30961; A119880.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted September 9, 2005.

Decided January 18, 2006.

Erin G. Rohr argued the cause for appellant. With her on the briefs was Chilton, Ebbett & Rohr, LLC.

David J. Amesbury, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Hardy Myers, Attorney General, and Mary H. Williams, Solicitor General.

Before HASELTON, Presiding Judge, and ARMSTRONG and ROSENBLUM, Judges.

HASELTON, P.J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. ORS 166.270. She assigns error to the trial court's denial of her motion to dismiss based on an alleged denial of her rights to a speedy trial under Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and ORS 135.747. This case is remarkable because virtually all of the nearly 80-month interval between defendant's indictment and her trial occurred after defendant absconded and later committed a crime in Washington state for which she was, consequently, convicted and incarcerated in a Washington correctional facility. Accordingly, because (as described below) we reject defendant's constitutional speedy trial arguments, this case presents an issue of first impression in Oregon: What is the proper relationship between ORS 135.747 and certain provisions of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD), ORS 135.775 to 135.793? We conclude that the correct reconciliation of those statutes in this case implicates issues of fact that have not yet been determined. Consequently, we vacate defendant's conviction and remand.

Except as specifically noted, the following matters are uncontroverted. On February 15, 1996, defendant was indicted in Multnomah County on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, ORS 166.270, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, ORS 475.992(4)(a), (b). Defendant was arraigned on February 23, and, on March 5, she entered into a pretrial release agreement with the state. Shortly thereafter, defendant absconded, and, on March 18, 1996, the Multnomah County Circuit Court issued a warrant for her arrest for failure to comply with the terms of her conditional release.

Oregon authorities were unaware of defendant's whereabouts for approximately two years.¹ However, in March 1998, Washington authorities notified the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office that defendant had been charged with crimes and was in custody in Pierce County, Washington. Shortly thereafter, the district attorney's office sought and obtained a governor's warrant to initiate defendant's extradition. See ORS 133.743-133.857. On June 16, 1998, Washington authorities notified the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office that defendant had been convicted and sentenced to 109 months' imprisonment and that she was being transferred to the state women's correctional center in Gig Harbor, Washington. The Washington notification also stated that the extradition proceeding was being dismissed and that Oregon officials should lodge a detainer against defendant at the Gig Harbor facility. On June 17, defendant was moved to Gig Harbor, and, on June 18, the extradition proceeding was dismissed.

When, or whether, Oregon authorities ever lodged a detainer against defendant is in dispute. In responding to defendant's speedy trial motion, the state offered evidence, in the form of a cover letter retained in the files of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, indicating that that office had sent a detainer to the Gig Harbor facility on June 22, 1998. That cover letter was retained in the file without any attendant documents. However, the letter indicates that other items, possibly including a detainer, were sent with it. The Sheriff's Office records technician who was responsible for processing such matters testified that the "detainer cover letter" and its attached documents had never been returned as undelivered and that it is not uncommon for correctional facilities to receive such letters without confirming receipt.

In addition to that cover letter, defendant's own testimony arguably indicated that a detainer had been lodged at the Gig Harbor facility at some time before April 2002. According to defendant, on April 18, 2002, nearly four years into her term at Gig Harbor, defendant asked the institutional records manager, Randy Vickers, if there were any detainers that had been lodged against her. Defendant testified that, when Vickers looked at her records, he was "in awe" and immediately gave defendant four forms, captioned "Agreement on Detainers" and numbered "I" through "IV," which he assisted defendant in completing, including completing portions of two of the forms himself. Form I informed defendant of the charges against her in Multnomah County and explained that she had the right under the IAD to request final disposition of those charges and that her trial would begin within 180 days of her request being received by the appropriate prosecuting officers. Forms III and IV provided other information required by the IAD.

Conversely, defendant also presented testimony indicating that Multnomah County authorities had never actually lodged a detainer against her while she was at the Gig Harbor facility. In particular, an investigator with the (Portland) Metropolitan Public Defenders' Office testified that she had contacted Vickers in August 2002, requesting copies of any detainer that had been placed on defendant:

"[Vickers] said a Governor's warrant from Oregon came with [defendant] when she went from Pierce County to Gig Harbor, where she was incarcerated. And that normally when someone arrives on a warrant they notify the requesting state and ask the requesting state to send detainer information, if it wishes.

"Q. Why do they ask about the detainer information?

"A. I think that's per the interstate compact. He says for untried Indictments they need certain information before they'll act.

"Q. Okay. Did Mr. Vickers state whether a detainer had been placed on [defendant] in 1998?

"A. He did not say that a detainer had been filed on or lodged against [defendant]."

On cross-examination, when asked "how thoroughly" she had investigated the existence of a detainer, the witness responded:

"I thought I did a fairly thorough job through Washington. I sent them a request, asked them for a copy of all their records, and they sent me everything back that they said was in their file, and the detainer was not in that."

At least one of the IAD forms that defendant and Vickers completed on April 18, 2002, also arguably corroborates the view that, as of that date, no detainers had been lodged against defendant at Gig Harbor. Vickers completed Form III and, in response to item number 8 of that form, which directs the custodial authority to list any "[d]etainers currently on file against this inmate," Vickers wrote, "None Known."²

In sum, the evidence is in conflict as to (1) whether Oregon authorities ever lodged a detainer against defendant while she was at Gig Harbor; (2) if such a detainer was lodged, when that occurred; and (3) when, if ever, defendant should reasonably have known of the existence of a detainer. As explained below, the resolution of those matters bears directly on the applicability of the IAD and, in turn, on the determination of whether defendant is entitled to dismissal under the speedy trial statute, ORS 135.747. See 203 Or.App. at ____ _ ____, 126 P.3d at 1252-53.

In all events, it is undisputed that, long before April 2002, defendant was well aware of the continued pendency of the charges against her in Oregon. Defendant testified that she always wanted to resolve those charges but that she never spoke to an attorney about how to do so. According to defendant, "what is known [at the prison] is you go to the law library, you fill out [a motion form] and you send a 180-day notice to the state to let them know to take some sort of action."³ Consequently, shortly after defendant arrived at the Gig Harbor facility, she asked the attendants at the prison library for assistance and they gave her a form titled, "Motion for Speedy Trial or Speedy Disposition of Warrants, Information." Although defendant filled out that motion on July 2, 1998, she did not mail it to the Multnomah County Circuit Court until October 1999.⁴

Notwithstanding that mailing, from October 1999 until April 18, 2002, when defendant and Vickers completed the IAD forms, neither defendant nor the state made any further attempt to commence defendant's trial. After completing the IAD forms, defendant mailed them to Multnomah County, and they were received on April 25, 2002. On October 3, 2002, less than 180 days later, defendant's trial began.

At trial, defendant moved to dismiss on speedy trial grounds pursuant to Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and ORS 135.747.⁵ Defendant conceded that the delay between February 1996 and March 1998 was the result of her flight from Oregon. However, she argued that the delay between March 1998, when Oregon officials first learned of her whereabouts, and October 2002, when her trial commenced, was an unreasonable delay attributable to the state. Further, in support of her constitutional speedy trial argument, defendant contended that she had suffered prejudice from the delay in that she had experienced anxiety and uncertainty and that her defense was impaired.

The trial court denied defendant's motion. The court concluded that the four-year delay was not unreasonable because defendant had absconded after her indictment and was incarcerated in another state and, further, with respect to defendant's constitutional arguments, that defendant had not been actually prejudiced by the delay.

Defendant...