Black v. State

820 P.2d 969, 1991 Wyo. LEXIS 172, 1991 WL 236894
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1991
Docket90-128
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 820 P.2d 969 (Black v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Black v. State, 820 P.2d 969, 1991 Wyo. LEXIS 172, 1991 WL 236894 (Wyo. 1991).

Opinions

[970]*970OPINION

MACY, Justice.

Appellant Jane Black appeals her conviction for delivery of a controlled substance (methamphetamine).

We reverse and remand.

Appellant raises the following issues:

I.
Whether or not the trial court erred by denying Appellant[’]s [M]otion To Dismiss For Denial Of Speedy Arrest And Due Process.
II.
Whether or not the trial court erred in not granting the Appellant[’]s Motion To Dismiss Information on the grounds that Appellant was denied her right to a fair preliminary hearpng] and confrontation at the preliminary hearing stage of the criminal process.
III.
Whether or not the trial court erred in failing to suppress Defendant[’]s statements and evidence derived therefrom.

According to the criminal complaint made on November 7, 1989, Appellant delivered a controlled substance, methamphetamine, to Paula Pirman “on or about the 20th or 21st day of January, 1989,” in Gillette, Wyoming. The complainant, an agent with the Northeast Wyoming Drug Enforcement Team, stated that Pirman told an officer of the Gillette police department that she had purchased one-quarter gram of methamphetamine from Appellant on January 20, 1989, for $25.1 The agent also detailed an “interview” with Appellant, which he and another detective conducted at the Gillette police department on March 16, 1989. During this interview, Appellant admitted making the delivery. The relevant dates are January 20, 1989, Appellant made delivery; March 16, 1989, Appellant was interviewed by officers and confessed to delivery; and November 7, 1989, criminal complaint was made, and criminal warrant was issued for Appellant’s arrest.

Appellant claims she has a right to a speedy arrest. She premises her speedy arrest claim upon the accused’s right to a speedy trial found in the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution and in article 1, section 10 of the Wyoming Constitution. Neither the United States Constitution nor the Wyoming Constitution, however, uses the term “speedy arrest.” Both provisions use the term “speedy trial” instead. Appellant maintains that, shortly after the delivery on January 20th, the police had all the evidence they needed to charge her with that crime and that, therefore, the police should not have delayed her arrest until November 7th. We addressed a claim of speedy arrest in Hovee v. State, 596 P.2d 1127, 1130 (Wyo.1979), and stated:

[A] claim, based solely on pre-arrest and pre-indictment delay, does not raise any question under the speedy trial provision of either the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution or Art. 1, § 10, of the Wyoming Constitution....

The United States Supreme Court

considered the significance, for constitutional purposes, of a lengthy preindictment delay [and] held that as far as the Speedy Trial Clause of the Sixth Amendment is concerned, such delay is wholly irrelevant, since our analysis of the language, history, and purposes of the Clause persuaded us that only “a formal indictment or information or else the actual restraints imposed by arrest and holding to answer a criminal charge ... engage the particular protections” of that provision.

United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783, 788-89, 97 S.Ct. 2044, 52 L.Ed.2d 752 (1977) (quoting United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 320, 92 S.Ct. 455, 30 L.Ed.2d 468 (1971)). The speedy trial clause has no application to prearrest delay.

[971]*971Appellant also claims the delay-violated her rights to due process and a fair trial.2 In Story v. State, 721 P.2d 1020, 1028, 65 A.L.R.4th 1011 (Wyo.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 962, 107 S.Ct. 459, 93 L.Ed.2d 405 (1986), we stated that a defendant is denied due process where “the prosecutor delays filing charges to gain a tactical advantage, perhaps where the prosecutor acts in bad faith in delaying the filing of charges, and where substantial prejudice results from the delay.” (Emphasis in original.) Appellant admits, “Although there was no direct testimony that the State was intentionally delaying the arrest and prosecution of the Appellant, the implication is there.” An “implication” that an intentional delay existed is not enough; some evidence must be in the record to support the charge. Appellant also argues that she “suffered greatly from this delay” because the individual who actually delivered the drugs died before she was charged. Appellant has not demonstrated the prejudice caused by the death of the witness; i.e., why her defense was impaired. The record also does not disclose when this particular witness died. Without these showings, it is impossible to determine whether she suffered “substantial prejudice” from the delay. Id.

Appellant asserts that the statements she made during the interrogation on March 16, 1989, were not voluntary and that, therefore, they should have been suppressed. She also cites Wyo.Stat. § 7-6-105(a) (1987) to support her argument that her statements should have been suppressed. This particular statute is part of the “Public Defender Act” and requires, “A needy person who is being interrogated by law enforcement personnel for a serious crime ... shall be informed of his right to be represented by an attorney at public expense.” Because Appellant’s interrogation was counter to the principles of due process, we do not address her separate statutory claim. We have previously stated, “In determining whether statements made by an accused are voluntary, the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation must be examined.” Frias v. State, 722 P.2d 135, 141 (Wyo.1986).

In Frias, the issue was whether the defendant had voluntarily waived his Miranda rights; We ruled, inter alia, that the defendant’s statements were the product of police coercion and were not made voluntarily. Id. at 142-43. We note that at no point during the interrogation was Appellant ever advised of her rights under Miranda, and that, even though fifth amendment and Miranda violations were not implicated here because Appellant was not in custody at the time of the interrogation as Appellant was told she was free to leave at any time, “the due process clause still stands as [an] independent limitation on the use of a defendant’s pretrial statement.” 2 D. Rudstein, C. Erlinder, & D. Thomas, Criminal Constitutional Law § 4.01[1] at 4-5 (1990). We, therefore, review Appellant’s claim under article 1, section 6 of the Wyoming Constitution: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”

The agent testified that, at the time he questioned Appellant on March 16, 1989, he knew Pirman had already identified Appellant as being the one who had sold her the methamphetamine. The agent also testified that he had questioned another witness who admitted she had sold methamphetamine to Appellant and her husband.

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Black v. State
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
820 P.2d 969, 1991 Wyo. LEXIS 172, 1991 WL 236894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/black-v-state-wyo-1991.