Betterman v. Montana

578 U.S. 437, 136 S. Ct. 1609, 194 L. Ed. 2d 723, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 164, 84 U.S.L.W. 4293, 2016 WL 2903423, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 3349
Supreme Court of the United States·Decided May 19, 2016·No. No. 14–1457.·Published·Cited by 163 cases

Opinions

Justice GINSBURG delivered the opinion of the Court.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury...." Does the Sixth Amendment's speedy trial guarantee apply to the sentencing phase of a criminal prosecution? That is the sole question this case presents. We hold that the guarantee protects the accused from arrest or indictment through trial, but does not apply once a defendant has been found guilty at trial or has pleaded guilty to criminal charges. For inordinate delay in sentencing, although the Speedy Trial Clause does not govern, a defendant may have other recourse, including, in appropriate circumstances, tailored relief under the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Petitioner Brandon Betterman, however, advanced in this Court only a Sixth Amendment speedy trial claim. He did not preserve a due process challenge. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 19. We, therefore, confine this opinion to his Sixth Amendment challenge.

I

Ordered to appear in court on domestic assault charges, Brandon Betterman failed to show up and was therefore charged with bail jumping. 378 Mont. 182, 184, 342 P.3d 971, 973 (2015). After pleading guilty to the bail-jumping charge, he was jailed for over 14 months awaiting sentence on that conviction. Id., at 184-185, 342 P.3d, at 973-974. The holdup, in large part, was due to institutional delay: the presentence report took nearly five months to complete; the trial court took several months to deny two presentence motions (one seeking dismissal of the charge on the ground of delay); and the court was slow *1613in setting a sentencing hearing. Id., at 185, 195, 342 P.3d, at 973-974, 980. Betterman was eventually sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, with four of those years suspended. Id., at 185, 342 P.3d, at 974.

Arguing that the 14-month gap between conviction and sentencing violated his speedy trial right, Betterman appealed. The Montana Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence, ruling that the Sixth Amendment's Speedy Trial Clause does not apply to postconviction, presentencing delay. Id., at 188-192, 342 P.3d, at 975-978.

We granted certiorari, 577 U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 582, 193 L.Ed.2d 464 (2015), to resolve a split among courts over whether the Speedy Trial Clause applies to such delay.1 Holding that the Clause does not apply to delayed sentencing, we affirm the Montana Supreme Court's judgment.

II

Criminal proceedings generally unfold in three discrete phases. First, the State investigates to determine whether to arrest and charge a suspect. Once charged, the suspect stands accused but is presumed innocent until conviction upon trial or guilty plea. After conviction, the court imposes sentence. There are checks against delay throughout this progression, each geared to its particular phase.

In the first stage-before arrest or indictment, when the suspect remains at liberty-statutes of limitations provide the primary protection against delay, with the Due Process Clause as a safeguard against fundamentally unfair prosecutorial conduct. United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783, 789, 97 S.Ct. 2044, 52 L.Ed.2d 752 (1977) ; see id., at 795, n. 17, 97 S.Ct. 2044 (Due Process Clause may be violated, for instance, by prosecutorial delay that is "tactical" or "reckless" (internal quotation marks omitted)).

The Sixth Amendment's Speedy Trial Clause homes in on the second period: from arrest or indictment through conviction. The constitutional right, our precedent holds, does not attach until this phase begins, that is, when a defendant is arrested or formally accused. United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 320-321, 92 S.Ct. 455, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971). Today we hold that the right detaches upon conviction, when this second stage ends.2

*1614Prior to conviction, the accused is shielded by the presumption of innocence, the "bedrock[,] axiomatic and elementary principle whose enforcement lies at the foundation of the administration of our criminal law." Reed v. Ross, 468 U.S. 1

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Betterman v. Montana, 578 U.S. 437, 136 S. Ct. 1609, 194 L. Ed. 2d 723, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 164, 84 U.S.L.W. 4293, 2016 WL 2903423, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 3349 (2016).

578 U.S. 437 (Betterman v. Montana) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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