U.S. v. Charles, 88-6078
| Decision Date | 31 August 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-6078,88-6078 |
| Citation | 883 F.2d 355 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Burton Bradley CHARLES, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Charles B. Robinson, Sherman, Tex., court appointed, for defendant-appellant.
H.S. Garcia, Asst. U.S. Atty., Sherman, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Before GARZA, REAVLEY and POLITZ, Circuit Judges.
Defendant Burton Bradley Charles ("Charles") was convicted by a jury on September 13, 1988, on two counts of federal firearms violations. The district court denied Charles' motions to dismiss the charges pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act, to suppress evidence because of a defect in the issuance of a search warrant, and to grant a directed verdict based on lack of evidence. From these denials, Charles appeals. Because we find Charles' contentions to be without merit, we affirm the decision of the district court.
On February 20, 1988, pursuant to a state search warrant, Charles was arrested by members of the Collin County Sheriff's Department on state drug charges. His arrest occurred during a raid on a compound thought to be the base of an extended drug circle; five other suspects were arrested in the same raid. Because the Collin County officials suspected they might find weapons and explosives in the compound, they asked Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms ("ATF") agent Dan Curtis to participate in the raid.
On March 3, 1988, a state district judge appointed Charles Sandoval to represent Charles, but Sandoval withdrew as counsel on March 28, 1988, after he discovered no state charges would be filed against Charles. Sandoval did no further investigation for Charles. After losing his appointed counsel, Charles allegedly filed an application for Writ of Habeas Corpus; we have no evidence concerning that application in the record before us. But in any event, Charles remained in the Collin County jail for four months, and no state charges were ever filed against him.
On June 17, 1988, agent Curtis executed an affidavit setting out information concerning illegal firearms found in the February 20 raid, and on the basis of that affidavit, Charles was arrested by Federal authorities on June 20, 1988. A grand jury indicted Charles on July 15, 1988.
Charles moved to have the charges against him dismissed on the grounds that his lengthy confinement before indictment violated the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. 3161 et seq. He also moved to suppress evidence found in the February 20 raid, as he alleged the raid and its attendant search were conducted without a warrant. The district court heard evidence on both motions, and denied both. Charles then stood trial and a jury found him guilty of both firearms counts alleged in his indictment. It is from the denial of his motions that Charles appeals.
Section 3161(b) of the Speedy Trial Act provides:
Any information or indictment charging an individual with the commission of an offense shall be filed within thirty days from the date on which such individual was arrested or served with a summons in connection with such charges....
It is clear that this section is triggered only by federal action, by bringing federal charges. U.S. v. Janik, 723 F.2d 537, 542 (7th Cir.1985). "An arrest made by a state officer, even if state and federal officers are cooperating at the time, does not start the running of the thirty day time period." U.S. v. Taylor, 814 F.2d 172, 175 (5th Cir.) cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 186, 98 L.Ed.2d 138 (1987); U.S. v. Johnson, 815 F.2d 309, 312 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 865, 108 S.Ct. 1032, 98 L.Ed.2d 996 (1987); U.S. v. Iaquinta, 674 F.2d 260, 264 (4th Cir.1982). So only if Charles' arrest was a federal arrest would the Speedy Trial time period begin to run.
Charles complains now that his arrest on February 20, 1988, triggered 3161(b)'s thirty-day clock, and the charges against him should be dismissed because he was not indicted until July 15, 1988: more than thirty days after his arrest. But Charles' argument must fail, because his arrest was not a federal one and so did not trigger the Speedy Trial Act and the thirty-day time limit. Federal ATF agent Curtis did participate, to some extent, in Charles' arrest, but his mere presence at the raid was not sufficient to transform the state arrest into a federal one. 1
The Collin County officials wrongfully held Charles for four months. Though they may have thought Charles was to be charged by federal authorities, and for that reason detained him, the fact remains that Charles was not under a federal detainer; he was not the subject of a federal complaint; there were no federal charges pending against him. The district court correctly described Charles' wrongful incarceration as "an unusual set of circumstances and an unfortunate set of circumstances." But Collin County's wrongful actions simply did not trigger the Speedy Trial Act, and we therefore affirm the district court's denial of Charles' motion to dismiss.
State Magistrate Curt Henderson issued a search warrant for the Charles compound at 6:03 p.m. on February 20. Charles complains now that evidence found in the raid should have been suppressed because the raid began before issuance of the search warrant, or, alternatively, that the officers did not have the search warrant in hand during the raid. As for Charles' first contention, the district court heard evidence and found that the raid began sometime after the magistrate issued the valid search warrant, and we affirm the finding on that point.
As for Charles' second complaint, it is true that the Federal Rules of Criminal procedure, Rule 41(d), provide that the "officer taking property under the warrant shall give to the person from whom or...
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U.S. v. Mills, s. 90-3007
...even if the arrest is for conduct that is the basis of a subsequent indictment for a federal offense. See, e.g., United States v. Charles, 883 F.2d 355, 356 (5th Cir.1989); United States v. Janik, 723 F.2d 537, 542 (7th Cir.1983); United States v. Carlson, 697 F.2d 231, 235 (8th Cir.1983); ......
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USA. v. Gantt
...A prior to the search" was a violation of Rule 41(d) but not prejudicial enough to require suppression); United States v. Charles, 883 F.2d 355, 357 (5th Cir. 1989) (same); United States v. Bonner, 808 F.2d 864, 869 (1st Cir. 1986) (same). United States v. Stefonek, 179 F.3d 1030 (7th Cir. ......
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U.S. v. Mills
...statutes--the Speedy Trial Act "clock" does not begin to run until federal charges are actually filed. See, e.g., United States v. Charles, 883 F.2d 355, 356 (5th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 750, 107 L.Ed.2d 767 (1990); United States v. Taylor, 814 F.2d 172, 174-75 (5t......
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U.S. v. Benitez, s. 93-50306
...in and of itself, although certainly not condoned by this court, does not trigger the Speedy Trial Act. See United States v. Charles, 883 F.2d 355, 356 (5th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1033, 110 S.Ct. 750, 107 L.Ed.2d 767 (1990) (fact that county officials wrongfully held defendant fo......