Beachem v. State

523 A.2d 1033, 71 Md. App. 39, 1987 Md. App. LEXIS 301
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedApril 14, 1987
Docket993, September Term, 1986
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 523 A.2d 1033 (Beachem v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beachem v. State, 523 A.2d 1033, 71 Md. App. 39, 1987 Md. App. LEXIS 301 (Md. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

ROSALYN B. BELL, Judge.

The Circuit Court for Washington County declared valid a detainer lodged by the Commonwealth of Virginia against Neil Edgar Beachem, appellant. Beachem contests this ruling contending:

—“[The] detainer should have been dismissed for failure to comply with the time limits set by the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act.”
—“The Court below erred in denying [his] motion to dismiss the Virginia detainer on the basis of undue delay by the State of Maryland in determining the detainer’s validity.”
*43 —“The Court below erred in denying [his] request for a continuance.”
—“The Judge should have recused himself from [the] case.”

I. INTERSTATE AGREEMENT ON DETAINERS

In order to understand Beachem’s arguments, we first review the relevant portions of the primary statute involved in this appeal. Virginia officials seeking temporary custody of Beachem in order to try him for charges pending in Virginia proceeded under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (I.A.D.), codified at Md.Code Ann. Art. 27, §§ 616A-616R (1957, 1982 RepLVol., 1986 Cum.Supp.). The I.A.D. provides cooperative procedures among the member states for the transfer of prisoners incarcerated in a penal or correctional institution in one state, which we will refer to as the asylum state, to the temporary custody of a second state, which we will refer to as the demanding state, 1 where criminal charges are pending. See Clipper v. State, 295 Md. 303, 307, 455 A.2d 973 (1983). Initially, officials of the demanding state direct a detainer to prison officials in the asylum state that informs them that there are charges pending in another jurisdiction against one of their prisoners, based on an untried indictment, information or complaint. See Clipper, 295 Md. at 305-08, 455 A.2d 973; State v. Boone, 40 Md.App. 41, 44, 388 A.2d 150 (1978). The official having custody of the prisoner must inform him or her of the contents of the detainer and of his or her right as outlined under § 616D to request final disposition of the charges in the demanding state. § 616D(c). The prisoner may send a written request for transfer to the custodial official in the asylum state. § 616D(a), (b). That official forwards the consent notice to the appropriate prosecuting *44 official of the demanding state, who must bring the prisoner to trial within 180 days from the date the request is received. § 616D(a), (b), (d).

Should the prisoner choose not to exercise his or her § 616D right to a final disposition, the demanding state then may request temporary custody pursuant to the procedures outlined in § 616E. During the 30 days following receipt of the demanding state’s request, the governor of the asylum state may disapprove the request on his or her own motion or upon motion of the prisoner. § 616E(a). Following the expiration of the 30 days, the prisoner may be delivered to the demanding state but retains the right to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the asylum state and challenge the legality of the detainer at a pre-transfer hearing. § 616E(d); Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 443-49, 101 S.Ct. 703, 709-12, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981); Statchuk v. Warden, 53 Md.App. 680, 684-85, 455 A.2d 1000, cert. denied, 296 Md. 111 (1983). If the court concludes that delivery is legal, the prisoner may appeal that decision. Statchuk, 53 Md.App. at 683-86, 455 A.2d 1000. After exhausting the right of appeal, trial must commence within 120 days from the date of the prisoner’s arrival in the demanding state. § 616E(c). At the earliest practicable time following trial or dismissal of the charges, the prisoner must be returned to the custody of the asylum state. § 616F(e).

II. CASE SUB JUDICE

In August, 1982 Beachem began serving a 10-year sentence in the custody of the Maryland Division of Correction. The prosecuting attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia lodged a detainer against Beachem in November, 1982 under the I.A.D. Beachem chose in December, 1982 not to request final disposition under § 616D. The record is silent about whether anything relevant to Beachem’s transfer occurred until November, 1983 when Virginia officials filed a request for temporary custody of Beachem pursuant to § 616E.

*45 We are not told what, if anything, transpired in the ensuing eight months except that on July 23,1984, Beachem filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the Circuit Court for Washington County attacking the Virginia detain-er and contesting a Missouri detainer which the court had previously found to be valid in February of 1983. 2 Although the circuit court denied the petition without a hearing by order filed July 31, 1984, the State did not file an answer to Beachem’s petition until September. The State explained that while the court’s order dealt with the Missouri detainer, it failed to address Beachem’s petition contesting the Virginia detainer. The State also brought to the court’s attention that Beachem had been transferred to the temporary custody of Missouri on July 24, 1984. The court issued another order on November 2, 1984 denying the petition as to the Virginia detainer because Beachem was not “confined or restrained in his lawful liberty within the State” as required for one to petition the court for a writ of habeas corpus under Rule Z41. Beachem was returned to the custody of Maryland later that month.

The State filed a Motion for Reconsideration in March, 1985 indicating to the court that Maryland could not transfer Beachem to Virginia since he requested, but was not granted, a habeas corpus hearing. The court granted the motion on April 11, 1985 and ordered “that a hearing be set on the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by the State’s Attorney’s Office as soon as practicable.” The hearing was scheduled for June 9, 1986. In total, 43 months passed from the time Virginia lodged the detainer until the June 9 hearing.

*46 At the hearing, Beachem stated he wanted the Virginia detainer dismissed without a hearing on its validity because it had taken Maryland over three years to act on the detainer. He also told the court that he and his attorney were not prepared to contest the validity of the detainer. The court permitted the State to proceed with its case and scheduled a later date for Beachem “to present evidence to the contrary or other evidence that is relevant on the detainer ... [w]hich will give Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re Garcia
984 A.2d 506 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)
(1996)
81 Op. Att'y Gen. 207 (Maryland Attorney General Reports, 1996)
Smith v. State
653 A.2d 526 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1995)
Whack v. State
615 A.2d 1226 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1992)
Burgess v. State
598 A.2d 830 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1991)
State v. Holley
571 A.2d 892 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
523 A.2d 1033, 71 Md. App. 39, 1987 Md. App. LEXIS 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beachem-v-state-mdctspecapp-1987.