U.S. v. Santiago-Becerril

• Citation: 130 F.3d 11
• Decision Date: 04 June 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-1937,SANTIAGO-BECERRIL,96-1937
• Parties: 48 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 27 UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. Benigno, a/k/a Benny, Defendant, Appellant. . Heard
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)

Page 11

130 F.3d 11

48 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 27

UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. Benigno SANTIAGO-BECERRIL, a/k/a Benny, Defendant, Appellant.

No. 96-1937.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard June 4, 1997.

Decided Nov. 20, 1997.

Jorge L. Arroyo-Alejandro, San Juan, PR, with whom Rachel Brill were on brief for appellant.

W. Stephen Muldrow, Assistant United States Attorney, Hato Rey, PR, with whom Nelson Perez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, and Jose A. Quiles-Espinosa, Senior Litigation Counsel, San Juan, PR, were on brief for the United States.

Before SELYA, Circuit Judge, CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge, and LAGUEUX, ^* Chief District Judge.

CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant Benigno Santiago-Becerril ("Santiago") appeals from convictions for the wrongful taking of a motor vehicle by force and violence, with a resulting death, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 2119(3) (Supp.1997), 2 (1969), and for the knowing use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1) & (3) (Supp.1997), 2 (1969). He argues on appeal that the district court violated his statutory and constitutional rights to a speedy trial, as well as his constitutional right to present witnesses in his own defense.

I.

Santiago was arrested on October 20, 1994 pursuant to a warrant issued after a criminal complaint had been filed against him on the previous day. He has since been incarcerated.

Criminal complaints and arrest warrants were also issued on October 20, 1994 against two minors, Antonio Jose Esquilin-Garcia ("Esquilin") and Pedro Antonio Ramos-Rosa ("Ramos"), alleged to have participated in the same offense as Santiago. Both were arrested on November 11, 1994.

Because Esquilin and Ramos were minors, only Santiago was charged in an indictment returned on November 2, 1994. At his arraignment on November 9, 1994, Santiago pled not guilty to both counts of the indictment.

On November 22, 1994, Santiago filed a motion to continue his trial, which had been scheduled for January 12, 1995. As a reason for the continuance, Santiago's counsel stated that he (counsel) would be on trial at the time in another case. The district court granted the continuance on December 1, 1994, finding that Santiago's interest in being represented by competent counsel outweighed his interests in a speedy trial and ordering counsel for Santiago to notify the court when the other trial had ended.

On February 2, 1995, Santiago's counsel notified the district court that his other trial was over, allowing the setting of a new trial date. On March 1, 1995, the district court ordered a pretrial conference on March 6, 1995, and set Santiago's trial for March 13, 1995.

On March 10, 1995, the government requested a continuance of the March 13 trial date, stating that Esquilin and Ramos were both awaiting a hearing on a motion to transfer to adult status. If the transfers were allowed, the government proposed to try them along with Santiago. Without objection, the district court allowed the continuance on March 13, 1995. The court found the ends of justice were served by continuing the trial, and that the ability to try together all persons implicated in this case outweighed the interests in a speedy trial.

On October 10, 1995, the district court ordered that both Esquilin and Ramos be transferred to adult status. On October 18, 1995, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment, charging the two transferred minors and Santiago with the same offenses charged in the original indictment against Santiago alone.

On December 4, 1995, Ramos entered a plea of guilty as to counts one and two of the superseding indictment pursuant to a Plea and Cooperation Agreement. On January 22, 1996, Esquilin did the same in respect to count one of the superseding indictment. Santiago's trial was set for January 23, 1996.

On January 18, 1996, Santiago filed a motion to dismiss the superseding indictment for violation of his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial. Five days later, following argument, the district court ruled to deny Santiago's motion to dismiss.

Trial began, as scheduled, on January 23, 1995. On the fifth day of trial, the defense called Wanda Caceres ("Caceres"), Santiago's stepmother, to the witness stand. Before she could testify, the court required the defense to make a proffer of her expected testimony. Counsel represented that Caceres would testify about her post-offense conversations with the defendants and about her efforts to purchase airline tickets for them to travel to the mainland. After the proffer, the district court warned Caceres about her right to refuse to testify, because of the possibility that she might incriminate herself. The court also appointed an attorney to advise Caceres, who was unrepresented to that point.

After Caceres's lawyer explained "her rights and the possible or probable consequences of testifying," Caceres decided not to testify. Later that same day, the jury returned a verdict, finding Santiago guilty on counts one and two of the superseding indictment.

On May 23, 1996, the district court sentenced Santiago to life imprisonment on count one and, consecutively, to sixty months' imprisonment on count two. Santiago appealed.

II.

A. Santiago's Statutory and Constitutional Rights to a Speedy Trial

1. The Statutory Right

The Speedy Trial Act ("STA"), 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seq. (1985), is designed "to protect a defendant's constitutional right to a speedy ... trial, and to serve the public interest in bringing prompt criminal proceedings." United States v. Saltzman, 984 F.2d 1087, 1090 (10th Cir.1993) (citing United States v. Noone, 913 F.2d 20, 28 (1st Cir.1990)). The STA provides that the government must bring a criminal defendant to trial no more than seventy days after the later of the filing date of the information or indictment or the date on which the criminal defendant first appears before a judicial officer of the court in which the charge is pending. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1) (1985); see also United States v. Torres Lopez, 851 F.2d 520, 525 (1st Cir.1988). In calculating the seventy days the STA excludes certain time periods. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)-(9) (1985); see also United States v. Sposito, 106 F.3d 1042, 1043 (1st Cir.1997); United States v. Thurlow, 710 F.Supp. 380, 381 (D.Me.1989). If a criminal defendant is not brought to trial within the seventy-day time limit required by § 3161(c)(1), as extended by operation of § 3161(h)(1)-(9), the penalty provisions of the STA mandate that "the information or indictment shall be dismissed on motion of the defendant." 18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(2) (1985); see also Sposito, 106 F.3d at 1043; Thurlow, 710 F.Supp. at 381.

Santiago argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the superseding indictment. He says that the delay in his being brought to trial added up to twice the number of statutorily allowable days. In response, the government asserts that only forty-nine non-excludable days passed before Santiago was brought to trial.

We find no error in the district court's refusal to dismiss the superseding indictment. This court reviews the disposition of a STA issue for clear error as to factual findings and de novo as to legal rulings. See United States v. Rodriguez, 63 F.3d 1159, 1162 (1st Cir.1995). We conclude that fewer than seventy non-excludable days went by before Santiago was brought to trial.

a) November 4, 1994 to March 1, 1995 (Santiago's motion for

a continuance of trial)

The original indictment was returned on November 2, 1994. Santiago first appeared before a judicial officer of the district court on November 4, 1994. STA calculation begins with the latter of these two dates. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1) (1985).

November 4, 1994 is itself excludable because Santiago appeared before the district court on that day. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1) (1985) ("proceedings concerning the defendant"). That day is also excludable for another reason, to wit, the government's motion to detain Santiago without bail pending the detention hearing, which the court granted that same day. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(F) (1985). Section 3161(h)(1)(F) excludes any "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." Id. November 9, 1994 is excludable because of Santiago's arraignment and detention hearing on that day. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1) (1985).

Santiago contends that the period from November 10, 1994 up to and including November 21, 1994 is non-excludable. The government agrees. We therefore find a total of sixteen non-excludable days up to this point.

On November 22, 1994, Santiago filed a motion notifying the district court of his counsel's unavailability on January 12, 1995, the scheduled trial date, because of another trial. Santiago requested an indefinite continuance of the trial as set for January 12, 1995. The court granted this motion ten days later, on December 1, 1994, ordering counsel to notify the court when the other trial was over. The parties agree that the ten days the court took to decide the motion were excludable from the STA's seventy-day time limit. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1)(F) (1985). They likewise agree that December 2, 1994 was excludable, a pretrial conference being held on that day. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1) (1985).

Santiago asserts that the six days from December 3, 1994 to December 8, 1994 are non-excludable. The government contends that the indefinite continuance of the trial, granted at defendant's request on December 1, 1994, makes these days excludable.

The STA excludes any period of delay resulting from the court's granting of a continuance if the continuance was granted on the basis of findings that the ends of justice served outweigh the speedy trial interest. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A) (1985). ¹ An ends of justice continuance was granted...