DocketNumber: No. 2007-CA-00044.
Citation Numbers: 2007 Ohio 4036
Judges: GWIN, P.J.
Filed Date: 8/6/2007
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
{¶ 3} Mount Union College filed charges against defendant on July, 25, 2005, in the Alliance Municipal Court. The Court found probable cause, assigned two case numbers to the charges and issued a warrant for defendant's arrest in each case. Joint Exhibits 1, 2, and 3.
{¶ 4} In Alliance Municipal Court Case, No. 2005-CRA-00858, appellant was charged with one count of Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, a fourth degree felony. Joint Exhibit 4.
{¶ 5} In Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRB-00859, appellant was charged with Attempted Breaking and Entering, a first degree misdemeanor, and Obstructing Official Business, a second degree misdemeanor. Joint Exhibits 5 and 6 respectively. Copies of the dockets in each case are attached as Joint Exhibits 7 and 8 respectively. *Page 3
{¶ 6} On September 13, 2005, in Case No. 2005-CRA-00858, the Alliance Municipal Court filed a judgment entry indicating that appellant was unavailable for prosecution. A copy of the judgment entry is attached as Joint Exhibit No. 9.
{¶ 7} On February 13, 2006, James A. Jenkins, an attorney from Cleveland, Ohio, wrote letters on appellant's behalf. The letters explained that appellant was in federal custody, on a six month term, for parole violations. The letters listed appellant's federal case number and the institution. The letters also indicated that appellant was available for prosecution. Copies of the letters were filed in the Alliance Municipal Court and are attached as Joint Exhibit 10 and 11.
{¶ 8} Joint Exhibits 10 and 11 were sent to and received by the Alliance Municipal Clerk of Court Criminal Division.
{¶ 9} Joint Exhibit 11 is a letter that contains the same body as Joint Exhibit 10 but was addressed to the Clerk of Courts Criminal Division, Stark County Common Pleas Court. This letter was received by the Alliance Municipal Court Clerk of Courts.
{¶ 10} James Jenkins does not have certified mailing cards to verify that the letters were received by the addressee or the copied recipients.
{¶ 11} Joint Exhibits 10 and 11 each contain a notation that copies of the letters were sent to the Stark County Prosecutor's Office, but the county prosecutor's office has no record of receiving these letters.
{¶ 12} Joint Exhibits 10 and 11 do not indicate that they were sent to the warden or superintendent having custody of defendant. *Page 4
{¶ 13} Neither Joint Exhibit 10 or 11, nor any other correspondence from appellant or his counsel, were accompanied by a certificate, letter, or other notification from a state or federal prison warden regarding appellant's incarceration.
{¶ 14} Neither a state or federal prison warden independently provided any representative from the State of Ohio with a certificate, letter, or other notification, indicating that appellant was incarcerated.
{¶ 15} On February 14, 2006, the Alliance Municipal Clerk filed Exhibits 10 and 11 in both Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRA-00858 and Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005CRB-00859.
{¶ 16} On February 15, 2006, the Alliance Municipal Clerk filed duplicates of Exhibits 10 and 11 in both Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRA-00858 and Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRB-00859.
{¶ 17} On March 28, 2006, in Case No. 2005-CRB-00859, the Alliance Municipal Court filed a judgment entry indicating that appellant was unavailable for prosecution. A copy of the judgment entry is attached as Joint Exhibit No. 12.
{¶ 18} Appellant was arrested on August 25, 2006. The arrest occurred after appellant had served his federal prison time.
{¶ 19} A preliminary hearing was held in the Alliance Municipal Court on August 30, 2006, and the municipal Court bound over appellant's cases to the Stark County Grand Jury.
{¶ 20} The Stark County Grand Jury returned an indictment against appellant on October 10, 2006, which charged appellant with one count of Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle (fourth degree felony), R.C. §
{¶ 21} On November 15, 2006, a Motion to Dismiss was filed in the Stark County Common Pleas Court on behalf of appellant for failure to bring him to trial within 180 days of the date of receipt of his availability for final adjudication, pursuant to R.C. 2941 01. A Memorandum in Support of the Motion was filed on December 20, 2006 as well as the State's Response to the Motion. The trial court denied the Motion by Judgment Entry on December 22, 2006. On January 10, 2007, appellant entered a plea of No Contest to the charges contained in the Indictment, was found guilty by the Court and sentenced to a total term of incarceration in a state penal institution of nine (9) months.
{¶ 22} A stay of execution was granted by the trial court in this matter.
{¶ 23} Appellant now appeals, assigning as error:
{¶ 24} "I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING DEFENDANT DOUGLAS CENTAFANTI'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO BRING THE MATTER TO TRIAL WITHIN 180 DAYS OF THE DATE HE CAUSED NOTICE OF HIS AVAILABILITY TO BE SERVED UPON THE COURT, THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY AND THE CLERK OF COURT. (Exh. * * *)."
{¶ 26} Specifically, appellant maintains his right to a speedy trial was violated by the State's failure to bring him to trial within 180 days of the date he caused notice of *Page 6
availability pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 27} "We begin by noting our lengthy history of
{¶ 28} In Ohio, the right to a speedy trial has been implemented by statutes that impose a duty on the state to bring a defendant who has not waived his rights to a speedy trial to trial within the time specified by the particular statute. R.C.
{¶ 29} As Chief Justice Moyer wrote in Brecksville v. Cook (1996),
{¶ 30} "Ohio's speedy trial statute was implemented to incorporate the constitutional protection of the right to a speedy trial provided for in the
{¶ 31} "Section
{¶ 32} "We have long held that the statutory speedy-trial limitations are mandatory and that the state must strictly comply with them.Hughes,
{¶ 33} R.C.
{¶ 34} "When a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a correctional institution of this state, and * * * there is pending in this state any untried indictment * * * against the prisoner, he shall be brought to trial within one hundred eighty days after he causes to be delivered to the prosecuting attorney and the appropriate court * * * written notice of the place of his imprisonment and a request for a final disposition to be made of the matter * * * The request of the prisoner shall be accompanied by a certificate of the warden or superintendent having custody of the prisoner, stating the term of commitment under which the prisoner is being held, the time served and 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 adult parole authority relating to the prisoner.
{¶ 35} "The written notice and request for final disposition shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden or superintendent having custody of him, who shall promptly forward it with the certificate to the appropriate prosecuting attorney and court by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.
* *
{¶ 36} "If the action is not brought to trial within the time provided * * * no court any longer has jurisdiction thereof, the indictment * * * is void, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the action with prejudice."
{¶ 37} The Ohio Supreme Court has held that, pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 38} "An inmate's `notification of availability and request for final disposition' can take several forms, depending on the circumstances of the inmate. Inmates are sometimes in halfway houses or municipal jail facilities where a warden or superintendent may or may not be present as contemplated in R.C.
{¶ 39} In State v. Drowell (1991),
{¶ 40} The Ferguson decision referenced the Supreme Court of Ohio ruling in Daugherty v. Solicitor for Highland Cty. (1971),
{¶ 41} For appellant to have strictly followed the R.C.
{¶ 42} "While in general, the one hundred eighty day time requirement of R.C.
{¶ 43} "We hold that appellant's actions substantially complied with the requirements set forth in R.C.
{¶ 44} "Substantial compliance requires the defendant to do `everything that could be reasonably expected.' State v. Ferguson
(1987),
{¶ 45} The State cites and relies upon the Ohio Supreme Court decision in State v. Hairston (2004),
{¶ 46} In Hairston, the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney charged Hairston by information with aggravated robbery, kidnapping and two counts of robbery. On October 6, 2000, the prosecutor dismissed those charges, anticipating a possible indictment. On October 18, 2000, the grand jury indicted Hairston on the same charges, and filed them on October 25, 2000.
{¶ 47} Because of the charges in the information, Hairston's parole officer held an on-site parole revocation hearing and revoked his parole on October 24, 2000. A summons sent to Hairston's home, while he remained in the county jail, came back unserved. On October 31, 2000, Hairston was returned to the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. *Page 13
{¶ 48} On June 12, 2001, the records supervisor at the Pickaway Correctional Institution delivered a detainer to Hairston advising him of the four charges from the October 2000 indictment.
{¶ 49} The Supreme Court concluded Hairston never caused the requisite notice of imprisonment and request for final disposition to be delivered to either the prosecuting attorney or the court; therefore, he never triggered the process to cause him to be brought to trial within 180 days of his notice and request. The Court further concluded the facts revealed the warden did not have knowledge of any of the charges pending against him, and the statute does not require a duty of reasonable diligence for the State to discover the whereabouts of an incarcerated defendant against whom criminal charges are pending.
{¶ 50} The Supreme Court held:
{¶ 51} "In its plainest language, R.C.
{¶ 52} Unlike Hairston, in the case sub judice, there is clear evidence the State knew the location where appellant was incarcerated. In the instant case, appellant sent *Page 14
a letter to the appropriate prosecutor's office and court, notifying them of his location of imprisonment and demanding a final disposition. The record reflects that the court took no action on this letter. Appellant's notification was filed by the clerk of courts in both Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRA-00858 and Alliance Municipal Court Case No. 2005-CRB-00859 on February 15, 2006. The next activity that occurred on the case was on March 28, 2006 in Case No. 2005-CRB-00859 where the Alliance Municipal Court, without explanation, filed a Judgment Entry indicating that the appellant was unavailable for prosecution. There is nothing in the record evidencing whether the Alliance City Prosecutor received a copy of appellant's letter; however appellant submitted the affidavit of his attorney wherein he noted that certified copies of the notice were sent to both the Alliance Municipal Court and the Alliance City prosecutor's office. Although appellant's attorney was unable to locate the return receipts for said letters the record contains no evidence to refute receipt by the court and the Alliance City prosecutor's office. All the State needed to do was communicate with the warden of the institution where appellant was incarcerated to obtain the appropriate certificate. In the alternative, the State could have contacted the attorney who filed the notice on appellant's behalf who could then have forwarded any necessary information to the court. Finally, the State could have notified the warden or superintendent having custody of the prisoner of the pending charge. The warden or superintendent is, in turn, required to inform the prisoner in writing of the pending charge and his right to make a request for final disposition thereof. Appellant could then have requested the appropriate certificate be forwarded the prosecutor. The State cannot avoid the application of R.C.
{¶ 53} Accordingly, we find that appellant substantially complied with R.C.
{¶ 54} Appellant's sole assignment of error is sustained, and this case is reversed and final judgment is entered for appellant.
*Page 16Gwin, P.J., Farmer, J., and Delaney, J., concur