Conway v. State

707 P.2d 930, 1985 Alas. App. LEXIS 372
CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedOctober 17, 1985
DocketNo. A-326
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 707 P.2d 930 (Conway v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conway v. State, 707 P.2d 930, 1985 Alas. App. LEXIS 372 (Ala. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinions

OPINION

SINGLETON, Judge.

Lane Conway was convicted of burglary in the second degree. AS 11.46.310. He appeals, contending that he was denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial, his right to be tried within the 120-day period prescribed by Alaska Rule of Criminal Procedure 45, and his due process rights under the agreement on detainers act, AS 33.35 et seq. We affirm.

On February 8, 1980, Lane Conway burglarized a boat moored in the Kodiak harbor and took two handguns. He was apprehended in the act of leaving the scene by a Kodiak police officer and was arrested at that time.1 Conway was subsequently indicted for burglary in the first degree. He was unavailable for his arraignment on April 11, 1980. On June 26, 1980, Conway [933]*933appeared for arraignment and signed an open-ended waiver of speedy trial.2

The record does not reflect when the November 20, 1980, trial date was established. It does appear, however, that Conway was considering a plea to the charge if he was not subject to presumptive sentencing. A pre-plea report and presentence investigation was commissioned on September 5, 1980, and a tentative date was established for a change of plea on October 6, 1980. Thereafter it was discovered that Conway would in fact be subject to presumptive sentencing and he decided to proceed to trial. The matter was set for trial during the week of November 17, 1980.

The public defender spoke with Conway on November 11, 1980, at which time he advised Conway of the trial date. The public defender also spoke with the defendant’s girlfriend and an attorney who was representing Conway in Seattle. The public defender indicated that he had been informed by Conway’s Washington counsel that Conway would be returning to Alaska and would be available for trial on November 26, 1980, or during June of 1981. The case was called for trial on November 20, 1980. Conway failed to appear, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Conway was arrested in the State of Washington on January 5, 1981, on unrelated charges, and the Washington authorities discovered the outstanding bench warrant issued for Conway’s failure to appear for trial on November 20, 1980. Conway was informed at that time of the outstanding Alaska warrant.

On January 11, 1981, Alaska began extradition proceedings to obtain Conway for trial. On March 10, 1981, the Governor of [934]*934Washington signed an extradition warrant directing Conway’s return to Alaska. On March 19, 1981, Washington officials informed Alaska officials that, upon resolution of the Washington charges pending against Conway, he would be made available to Alaska.

On April 27, 1981, after pleading guilty to the Washington charges, Conway was sentenced to a maximum term of five years, the minimum term to be fixed by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles. Under Washington law, the sentencing judge sets a maximum sentence, and thereafter a minimum sentence is set by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles. Wash.Rev. Code § 9.95.040. The minimum term is to be set within six months of the date of the admission of the prisoner to the prison. The Alaska officials apparently expected that Washington would extradite Conway immediately after his minimum term was set.

Between May and June of 1981, the Alaska District Attorney cooperated with the Alaska Attorney General to work out an informal agreement for defendant’s return pursuant to the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act. AS 12.70 et seq. During this period, Judge Madsen found that the Alaska Assistant Attorney General was negotiating with Washington officials for Conway’s return under an informal “side agreement.” Judge Madsen found that such an agreement had been reached and that Conway was to be returned to Alaska after a minimum sentence was set by the Washington parole board. On June 25, 1981, the Interstate Agreement on Detain-ers went into effect in Alaska. AS 33.35 et seq.

In the meantime, Conway, through his Washington counsel, attempted to work out an agreement whereby Conway’s Alaska offenses would be considered in connection with his Washington sentencing and the Alaska charges would be dropped. The district attorney informed counsel in March of 1982 that the State of Alaska would not agree to this arrangement.

On January 8, 1982, the Alaska Attorney General’s office received a letter from prison authorities in Washington indicating that Conway would not be released to Alaska officials until paroled. On February 3, 1982, Alaska responded to the Washington correspondence reiterating its desire to try Conway and filing a detainer. Thereafter on March 1, 1982, the district attorney in Kodiak corresponded with Conway’s Washington attorney, reiterating his stance that Conway be tried in Alaska as soon as he could be obtained from the Washington authorities. Shortly thereafter, the Kodiak District Attorney wrote to the district attorney in Seattle requesting assistance in getting Conway back to Alaska on July 9, 1982, his good-time release date.

On July 10, 1982, Conway refused to be paroled to the Alaska detainer. In October of 1982, Conway formally objected to extradition in a pro se application for a writ of habeas corpus. On December 15,1982, his application was supplemented by a more formal application for habeas corpus filed by Conway’s Seattle attorney. It does not appear that the Washington courts ever heard Conway’s application for habeas corpus. On January 12, 1983, Washington turned him over to Alaska authorities and he was returned to this state.

DISCUSSION

At the outset, it is important to recognize that a defendant’s conduct can influence his speedy trial rights in three related but distinct ways. First, he or she may waive or under certain circumstances forfeit the right to assert a speedy trial violation. See, e.g., Andrew v. State, 694 P.2d 168 (Alaska App.), petition for hearing granted, (Alaska, May 6, 1985). Second, he or she may trigger recommencement of the speedy trial period, losing the benefit of previously accrued time but retaining the right to bring a speedy trial claim. See, e.g., Russell v. Anchorage, 626 P.2d 586 (Alaska App.1981). Finally, he or she may engage in activities which result in time excluded from consideration under Rule 45, which does not forfeit his right to bring a [935]*935speedy trial claim or result in recommencement of the speedy trial period. All of these factors are present in this case. It is not necessary, however, for us to determine whether Conway’s written waiver of speedy trial forfeits his right to make a speedy trial claim, because we are satisfied that Conway was brought to trial well within the 120-day period prescribed in Criminal Rule 45 after allowance is made for excluded periods.

Lane Conway was arrested on February 8, 1980 and charged with the instant offense. The 120-day period began to run on this date, subject to certain excluded periods. Alaska R.Crim.P. 45(b) and (c). Conway, however, shortly thereafter left the State of Alaska and negotiated through counsel with the state for a resolution of this case without trial.

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Bluebook (online)
707 P.2d 930, 1985 Alas. App. LEXIS 372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conway-v-state-alaskactapp-1985.