Bonds v. State

938 So. 2d 352, 2006 WL 2729468
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 26, 2006
Docket2004-KA-00853-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 938 So. 2d 352 (Bonds v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bonds v. State, 938 So. 2d 352, 2006 WL 2729468 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

938 So.2d 352 (2006)

Otis BONDS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2004-KA-00853-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 26, 2006.

*354 William E. Goodwin, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., GRIFFIS and BARNES, JJ.

BARNES, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Otis Bonds was convicted in the Circuit Court of Pike County of shooting into an automobile and of possession of a firearm by a felon. Tried as a habitual offender, Bonds was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for the shooting and three years' imprisonment for the possession of a firearm, with the sentences to run consecutively. He was also ordered to pay full restitution in an unspecified amount, court-appointed attorney fees in the amount of $500, and court costs. Bonds makes a single argument on appeal; he claims that the trial court erred by not dismissing the charges because he was denied his right to a speedy trial. Finding no error, we affirm.

SUMMARY OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. As Bonds's appeal is directed not at his guilt or innocence of the crimes charged, but instead on whether he was brought to trial in a timely manner, our recitation of the facts focuses not upon the circumstances of the crimes but upon the events occurring thereafter. On April 26, 2002, Bonds was observed shooting into an automobile outside a residence in Summit, Mississippi. He was arrested on August 15, 2002, and released on bond less than two weeks later.

¶ 3. On July 9, 2003, Bonds was indicted on three charges: shooting into a motor vehicle in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-25-47 (Rev.2000); shooting into an occupied dwelling in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-37-29 (Rev.2000); and possession of a firearm by a felon contrary to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-37-5 (Rev. 2000). The indictment also alleged that Bonds had been twice convicted of felonies and thus was a habitual offender. Bonds waived arraignment on August 4, 2003.

¶ 4. The district attorney moved the court to revoke the bond on October 1, 2003 due to Bonds's arrest and indictment on additional charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; the circuit judge signed the order revoking the bond on October 27, 2003. Bonds immediately filed a motion to dismiss for lack of speedy trial on October 30, 2003. A hearing was held on Bonds's motion on December 8, 2003. The circuit judge held that the length of the delay in bringing Bonds to trial was presumptively prejudicial since it was longer than eight months; however, the judge *355 found that the cause of the delay, the arresting officer's deployment to Iraq, was reasonable and that the City of Summit had submitted the case to the grand jury in "due course."

¶ 5. Bonds filed a second motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial on February 26, 2004, and a hearing on the motion was held March 15, 2004. Instead of ruling on the motion, the circuit judge set the case for trial two days later. Making no objection to this resolution, Bonds was tried on March 17, 2004, 580 days after his arrest and 226 days after his waiver of indictment. He was convicted of shooting into an automobile and possession of a firearm by a felon. An order of nolle prosequi was entered to the charge of shooting into an occupied dwelling.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6. A defendant's successful speedy trial challenge results in dismissal of the charge against him. Strunk v. United States, 412 U.S. 434, 440, 93 S.Ct. 2260, 37 L.Ed.2d 56 (1973); Smith v. State, 550 So.2d 406, 409 (Miss.1989). Bonds contends that the delay between the time of his arrest, August 15, 2002, to his subsequent trial on March 17, 2004 (580 days) violated his speedy trial rights. Bonds argues that he twice asserted his speedy trial right and was prejudiced as a result of the delay in conducting his trial in that he lost his job at Wal-Mart as a result of being unduly incarcerated. Because of the actions or inactions of the State regarding his speedy trial rights, Bonds asks that we render his conviction. The State counters that there was "good cause" for the delay in bringing Bonds to trial because the arresting officer, Summit Police Officer David Harris, was called to active duty in Iraq in October of 2002, and that the State tried Bonds in "due course."

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. Review of a speedy trial claim involves a question of fact: whether the trial delay arose from good cause. Flora v. State, 925 So.2d 797, 814(¶ 58) (Miss.2006) (citing DeLoach v. State, 722 So.2d 512, 516 (¶ 12) (Miss.1998)). We will uphold the trial court's finding of good cause if that decision is supported by substantial, credible evidence. Id. (citing Folk v. State, 576 So.2d 1243, 1247 (Miss.1991)). However, if no probative evidence supports the trial court's findings, we must reverse the decision and dismiss the charge. Ross v. State, 605 So.2d 17, 21 (Miss.1992) (citing Strunk, 412 U.S. at 440, 93 S.Ct. 2260). The State bears the burden of proving good cause for the speedy trial delay, and thus bears the risk of non-persuasion. Flores v. State, 574 So.2d 1314, 1318 (Miss.1990); Nations v. State, 481 So.2d 760, 761 (Miss.1985). Good cause is a factual finding which is not different from any other finding of fact and thus, an appellate court should not disturb the finding when the finding is based upon substantial evidence identified from the record. McGhee v. State, 657 So.2d 799, 803 (Miss.1995).

A. The Constitutional Rights to a Speedy Trial

¶ 8. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution entitles Bonds to a "speedy and public trial." See United States Const. amend. VI. The Supreme Court has observed that "the right to a speedy trial is as fundamental as any of the rights secured by the Sixth Amendment. That right has its roots at the very foundation of our English law heritage." Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U.S. 213, 223, 87 S.Ct. 988, 18 L.Ed.2d 1 (1967). The federal constitutional right is applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at 222-23, 87 S.Ct. 988. *356 Additionally, Article 3, section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 guarantees a criminal defendant "a speedy and public trial." This right, as with the federal constitutional right, attaches when a person has been accused, either by way of arrest, indictment or information. Stark v. State, 911 So.2d 447, 450(¶ 6) (Miss.2005). The Supreme Court has observed that the speedy trial right serves a threefold purpose: (1) to protect the accused against oppressive pretrial imprisonment; (2) to relieve the accused of the anxiety and public suspicion due to an unresolved criminal charge; and (3) to protect against the risk that evidence will be lost or memories dimmed by the passage of time thus impairing a defendant's ability to defend himself or herself. United States v. Loud Hawk, 474 U.S. 302, 312, 106 S.Ct. 648, 88 L.Ed.2d 640 (1986) (quoting United States v. Ewell, 383 U.S. 116, 120, 86 S.Ct. 773, 15 L.Ed.2d 627 (1966)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
938 So. 2d 352, 2006 WL 2729468, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bonds-v-state-missctapp-2006.