State v. Wood, 57722

• Decision Date: 14 April 1976
• Docket Number: No. 57722,57722
• Citation: 241 N.W.2d 8
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Donald William WOOD, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 8

241 N.W.2d 8

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Donald William WOOD, Appellant.

No. 57722.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 14, 1976.

Richard A. Knock, of Mershon, Snow & Knock, Cedar Falls, for appellant.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., Nancy J. Shimanek, Asst. Atty. Gen., and David J. Dutton, County Atty., for appellee.

Heard by MOORE, C.J., and MASON, REES, UHLENHOPP and REYNOLDSON, JJ.

MOORE, Chief Justice.

Defendant appeals his conviction for robbery with aggravation asserting he was denied the right to a speedy trial under the provisions of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, (IAD), which Iowa adopted in 1966. Its nine Articles are now fully set out in Code section 759A.1. No constitutional questions have been raised. Article III of the IAD requires trial within 180 days after defendant has given notice of his desire to expedite proceedings to clear up a detainer lodged against him while a prisoner in a party state's correctional institution. We find the 180-day limitation period was complied with and therefore affirm defendant's conviction.

I. On February 5, 1973 the Consolidated Gas Station in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa was held up at gunpoint. The station attendant later identified a photograph of defendant as the person who had robbed him and on that basis, a preliminary information was filed against defendant Donald William Wood February 28, 1973. March 6, 1973 Wood was arrested in Wisconsin for an unrelated Wisconsin parole violation. Six months later, August 29, the attendant was flown to Wisconsin where he positively identified defendant as the perpetrator of the crime. No further action was taken by the Iowa authorities until January 3, 1974.

However, on November 19, 1973 Wood, a prisoner in the Wisconsin State Prison, Waupon, Wisconsin sent the following letter by ordinary mail to the Black Hawk County Attorney:

'Dear Sir:

I understand there is a charge against me from your area.

I would like to get it taken care of at this time if that is possible.

I don't know what has to be done, but I would like to get it cleared up if there is a charge on me from your area.

I am at the Wisconsin State Prison now. I was sentenced from Menonomie, Wis. and Chippewa Falls, Wis.

I have no attorney now.

So if things can be cleared up now I would appreciate it and at this time will agree to extradition to Waterloo, Iowa.

Please advise me as to what's what.

Thanking you,

(Signed Donald W. Wood)'

Forty-five days after this letter was written, a warrant for Wood was sent to the Wisconsin authorities. Then, on January 29, 1974, a letter and forms requesting custody of Wood were sent by the Black Hawk County Attorney to Warden R. L. Gray of the Wisconsin prison. On January 31, 1974, a letter containing the completed and signed forms necessary for compliance with the Interstate Agreement on Detainers was sent by Warden Gray to Black Hawk County Attorney, David Dutton. These forms advised the Black Hawk County authorities of the prisoner's desire for disposition of pending charges, of his status at the Wisconsin prison and of the Wisconsin authorities consent to custody transfer. In the letter accompanying these forms, Warden Gray advised the Iowa authorities that Wood had previously requested speedy disposition of an outstanding Kansas warrant and in Gray's personal opinion the State of Kansas would have first priority over the subject. He assured Mr. Dutton the Black Hawk County Attorney's office would be notified as soon as the Kansas proceedings were completed.

Wood was transferred from Wisconsin to Kansas May 1, 1974, returned to Wisconsin June 14 and turned over to Iowa authorities July 3. A true information was filed against defendant July 5. Defendant's motion to dismiss the charges for failure to afford him a speedy trial was overruled by Judge Damsgaard on August 19. Trial before Judge Engelkes was had on September 3--6, 1974. Defendant was found guilty, sentenced and has appealed.

II. This is a case of first impression in Iowa. No judicial interpretations of the Act have been made in this State and we must therefore rely on precedents from other jurisdictions.

Approximately 30 states and the federal government have adopted the IAD and several have case authority interpreting it. The IAD was adopted in order to assure speedy disposition of detainers lodged against prisoners in party state institutions. The purposes of the Act are more fully set forth in Article I of the Act and will be discussed more fully below.

Of primary concern to this appeal is Article IIIa of section 759A.1 which reads in pertinent part:

'a. Whenever a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution of a party state, and whenever during the continuance of the term of imprisonment there is pending in any other party state any untried indictment, information or complaint on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner, he shall be brought to trial within one hundred eighty days after he shall have caused to be delivered to the prosecuting officer and the appropriate court of the prosecuting officer's jurisdiction written notice of the place of his imprisonment and his request for a final disposition to be made of the indictment, information or complaint: Provided that for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction of the matter, may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance. The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by a certificate of the appropriate official having custody of the prisoner, stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time already served, the time remaining to be served on the sentence, the amount of good time earned, the time of parole eligibility of the prisoner, and any decisions of the state parole agency relating to the prisoner.'

This statutory provision requires the prisoner to be brought to trial within 180 days of his giving notice of desire for speedy disposition of charges which form the basis of detainers lodged against him. The first issue presented requires us to determine when the statutory period began to run. Appellant argues the 180 days should be counted from November 19, 1973, the date Wood sent his letter to the Black Hawk County Attorney. The State maintains the period did not begin until January 31, 1974 when IAD forms were completed and mailed to County Attorney Dutton. For reasons set out below, we find the period began on January 31, 1974.

Article IIIb of section 759A.1 provides:

'b. The written notice and request for final disposition referred to in paragraph 'a' hereof shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden, commissioner of corrections or other official having custody of him, who shall promptly forward it together with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting official and court by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.'

III. Because the statute requires trial to be commenced within 180 days of notice regarding disposition of untried indictments 'on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner * * *,' we must first determine the meaning of detainer as used in the IAD. The term is not defined in the Act and our research indicates that only one court has specifically adopted a definition of it. The court in United States ex rel. Esola v. Groomes, 3 Cir., 520 F.2d 830, 838 quotes the following definition found in the U.S. Congressional history of the Federal IAD:

'The word 'detainer', as it is used in the Agreement, is 'a notification filed with the institution in which a prisoner is serving a sentence, advising that he is wanted to face pending criminal charges in another jurisdiction.' See Senate Report 91--1356, 91st Cong., 2nd Sess., 3 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 4865. This definition of a detainer from the Senate Report finds support in other legislative history of the Agreement and is consistent with the purpose of the Agreement.'

This discussion represents sound analysis. The important language for our purposes is 'notification filed with the institution.'

Although the record is sparse regarding contacts between Iowa and Wisconsin authorities between March 6, 1973 and January 3, 1974, it is clear that no 'notification' had been 'filed' in Wisconsin prior to January 3, 1974 when the warrant was sent from Black Hawk County. It is equally clear that the filing of this warrant constituted the first official notice filed in Wisconsin which advised defendant that he was wanted to face pending charges in Iowa.

IV. Having determined the first official notice of pending charges was filed on January 3, 1974, we must now decide if the prisoner's letter mailed November 19, 1973, some 45 days prior to...