U.S. v. Law

• Citation: 526 F.Supp.2d 513
• Decision Date: 13 December 2007
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No. 07-437.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Rodney LAW.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

526 F.Supp.2d 513

UNITED STATES of America v. Rodney LAW.

Criminal Action No. 07-437.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

December 13, 2007.

Curtis R. Douglas, Philadelphia, PA, for United States.

Joseph C. Santaguida, Philadelphia, PA, for Rodney Law.

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM

JAN E. DuBOIS, District Judge.

ORDER

AND NOW, this 13th day of December, 2007, upon consideration of Defendant's Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act (Document No. 10, filed October 17, 2007), the Government's Response and Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act, the Government's Supplemental Response and Memorandum of Law in Response to Defendant's Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act, and Defendant's Supplemental Memorandum of Law in Favor of Dismissal with Prejudice Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act is GRANTED, and the Indictment is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

MEMORANDUM

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On January 13, 2005 defendant appeared before Magistrate Judge Thomas J. Reuter in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for his initial appearance on the Complaint filed by the Government on January 6, 2005. On February 10, 2005 a grand jury returned an Indictment charging defendant with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base ("crack") in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A), and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Defendant's trial was initially scheduled for April 18, 2005.

On three occasions after his initial indictment, defendant moved for a trial continuance. First, defendant moved for a trial continuance on April 12, 2005. That motion was granted by the Court on April 13, 2005, and the trial was continued to June 6, 2005. Next, on May 24, 2005, defendant moved for a second trial continnance. That motion was granted by the Court on May 25, 2005, and the trial was continued to October 31, 2005. Finally, on October 28, 2005, defendant moved for a third trial continuance. That motion was granted by the Court the same day, and the trial was continued to January 17, 2006. On each occasion that the Court granted a continuance, defendant waived his Speedy Trial Act rights for the duration of the continuance, and the Court excluded time pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A) after finding that the ends of justice served by taking such action outweighed the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.

On January 17, 2006, the day that trial was scheduled to commence, the Government made an oral motion for a trial continuance based on the unavailability of the Government's chief witness, Tyiesha Falligan. The Court granted the Government's request and continued trial to March 13, 2006. In granting the Government's motion, the Court excluded time under the Speedy Trial Act on two grounds: first, the unavailability of an essential witness, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(3)(A); and second, its finding that pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A) the ends of justice served by continuing the case from January 17, 2006 to March 13, 2006 outweighed the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial. The Court also issued a material witness warrant and directed the Government to report within thirty (30) days on its progress in finding Tyiesha Falligan.

On March 10, 2006 the Government informed the Court that it remained unable to locate its essential witness. Because it could not proceed to trial without the witness, the Government moved to dismiss the Indictment against defendant without prejudice. The Court granted the Government's Motion and dismissed the Indictment without prejudice on March 10, 2006.

In the months that followed, the Court remained in contact with the Government concerning the status of defendant's case and the Government's ongoing efforts to locate Tyiesha Falligan. On August 28, 2006 Tyiesha Falligan was arrested in Montgomery County, PA, on an unrelated state matter. She was released to the custody of Drug Enforcement Administration agents on September 21, 2006 and she appeared before Magistrate Judge L. Felipe Restrepo in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania the following day, pursuant to the material witness warrant.

On August 1, 2007 a grand jury returned the instant Indictment charging defendant with the same four counts with which he was charged originally. On September 20, 2007 defendant was arraigned on the second Indictment before Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. At the time of his arraignment defendant was in state custody, having been sentenced on state charges unrelated to his federal Indictment.

On October 17, 2007 defendant filed the instant Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act. Defendant argues that more than seventy (70) days of non-excludable speedy trial time elapsed between the filing of the initial Indictment and the date he filed the instant Motion, and that the Court is therefore required to dismiss the Indictment. On October 25, 2007 the Government filed a Response to Defendant's Motion in which it argued that no Speedy Trial Act violation occurred. The Government also argued, in the alternative, that the Indictment should be dismissed without prejudice should the Court find that the Act was violated.

This Court held a hearing on Defendant's Motion on November 1, 2007, after which it ordered that the parties prepare supplemental briefing on the issues raised in the Motion. In its Supplemental Response (Document No. 20, filed November 16, 2007), the Government conceded that the Speedy Trial Act was violated and argued for dismissal of the Indictment without prejudice. In response, defendant filed a Supplemental Memorandum, (Document No. 21, filed November 26, 2007), asserting that the Indictment should be dismissed with prejudice. Defendant argues that the Government irresponsibly delayed prosecution of his case, undermining the objectives of the Speedy Trial Act and prejudicing him by making it impossible for him to serve his state and potential federal sentences concurrently.

II. DISCUSSION

A. THE SPEEDY TRIAL ACT VIOLATION

18 U.S.C. 3161(c)(1) provides that "In any case in which a plea of not guilty is entered, the trial of a defendant . . . shall commence within seventy days from the filing date . . . of the . . . indictment, or from the date the defendant has appeared before a judicial officer of the court in which such charge is pending, whichever date last occurs." Where a trial is delayed for more than seventy days, and the cause of the delay does not fit within an exclusion specified in 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h), an indictment must be dismissed. See Zedner v. United States, 547 U.S. 489, 126 S.Ct. 1976, 1984, 164 L.Ed.2d 749 (2006) ("If a trial does not begin on time, the defendant may move, before the start of trial or the entry of a guilty plea, to dismiss the charges, and if a meritorious and timely motion to dismiss is filed, the district court must dismiss the, charges. . . ."); see also United States v. Lattany, 982 F.2d 866, 871 (3d Cir.1992).

In this case, because defendant's first appearance took place before the filing of the initial Indictment, the Speedy Trial Act clock began to run on February 10, 2005. See 18 U.S.C. 3161(c)(1) (stating that clock begins at later date of initial appearance or filing of the indictment). The clock continued to run from February 10, 2005 until April 12, 2005, when defendant filed his first motion for a continuance. From April 12, 2005, through the dismissal of defendant's initial Indictment on March 10, 2006, all elapsed time was properly excluded under the Speedy Trial Act. The brief time from April 12, 2005 through April 13, 2005 was excluded pursuant to § 3161(h)(1)(F), while the Court considered defendant's Motion to Continue Trial. Section 3161(h)(1)(F) excludes any delay "resulting from other proceedings concerning the defendant," including "delay resulting from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion." All time from April 13, 2005 through January 17, 2006 was properly excluded at the request of the defendant, upon specific findings by the Court "that the ends of justice served by [excluding time] outweighed] the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial." § 3161(h)(8)(A); see also Lattany, 982 F.2d at 876-77 (discussing district court's power to grant "ends of justice" continuance). From January 17, 2006, through the dismissal of the defendant's initial Indictment on March 10, 2006, the Court properly excluded time based on the unavailability of an essential witness, § 3161(h)(3)(A), and its finding that the "ends of justice" were best served by a continuance. § 3161(h)(8)(A).

Based on this analysis, the Court finds that sixty-one (61) non-excludable days . . . elapsed between the filing of the Indictment on February 10, 2005 and the dismissal of that Indictment on March 10, 2006.

The Speedy Trial Act clock stopped at the point the Court dismissed defendant's Indictment upon motion of the Government. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(6) ("If the information or indictment is dismissed upon motion of the attorney for the Government and thereafter a charge is filed against the defendant for the same offense . . . any period of delay from the date the charge was dismissed to the date the time limitation would commence to run as to the subsequent charge had there been no previous charge [is excluded]."). When the Government reindicted...