Crosland v. State

857 P.2d 943, 219 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 1993 Utah LEXIS 107, 1993 WL 300934
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 6, 1993
Docket920481
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 857 P.2d 943 (Crosland v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crosland v. State, 857 P.2d 943, 219 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 1993 Utah LEXIS 107, 1993 WL 300934 (Utah 1993).

Opinions

DURHAM, Justice:

Petitioner Darwin Willard Crosland seeks a writ of mandamus to compel dismissal of the information filed against him in the First Circuit Court of Box Elder County. At issue is the proper interpretation of article III of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (“IAD” or “Agreement”).1 Utah Code Ann. § 77-29-5 (1990). The district court and the Utah [944]*944Court of Appeals denied Crosland extraordinary relief. We likewise deny his request in light of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fex v. Michigan, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 1085, 122 L.Ed.2d 406 (1993).

On February 11, 1991, Crosland was charged by amended information with one count of theft and ten counts of aggravated assault. The charges arose from an incident that occurred at a Shopko store in Brigham City, Utah, while Crosland was on probation from an Idaho conviction. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and he was eventually apprehended in Idaho. His probation was revoked, and he was incarcerated in the Idaho state prison.

Crosland demands that the information filed against him be dismissed on the grounds that Utah authorities violated the provisions of the IAD and that this, in turn, deprived him of his right to a speedy trial. The chronology of the extradition and de-tainer proceedings is critical in applying the IAD. The pertinent dates and corresponding facts are as follows:

February 12, 1991: Utah authorities located Crosland in Idaho and, pursuant to a governor’s warrant, began extradition proceedings.

March 25, 1991: Crosland signed a self-styled “request for disposition” of the charges pending against him in Utah and gave it to his Idaho attorney. This filing (“first request”) was premature because Utah authorities had not yet commenced detainer proceedings.

March 26, 1991: Crosland’s Idaho attorney sent the premature request to the records administrator at the Idaho Department of Corrections pursuant to article 111(a) of the IAD. See also Idaho Code § 19-5001 (1987). The Department has no record of the first request.

April 3, 1991: Utah authorities lodged a detainer against Crosland on one count of theft and ten counts of aggravated assault.

April 30,1991: Idaho authorities notified Crosland of the Utah detainer.

June 16,1991: Crosland’s Idaho attorney called the Idaho Department of Corrections and learned that the March 25 request was not received. The attorney was told to mail a copy of the initial request.

June 21,1991: Crosland’s Idaho attorney mailed a photocopy of the March 25 request (unmodified) to Idaho authorities.

June 24, 1991: The Idaho Department of Corrections received this document (“second request”) but did not forward it to the Utah prosecutor’s office.

October 2,1991: Crosland filed a motion in Box Elder County circuit court to dismiss the Utah charges on the basis of the March 26 request. The circuit court denied the motion two months later.

January 28, 1992: Crosland moved to dismiss on the basis of the June 24 request — his second request — asserting that Utah had failed to comply with article 111(d) of the IAD because he was not brought to trial before the 180-day period elapsed. Crosland argued that the statute does not require that Utah actually receive a defendant’s notice to trigger a dismissal for noncompliance.

March 18, 1992: The circuit court denied the second motion, holding that the 180-day period did not commence until Utah authorities received Crosland’s request.

Crosland appealed from the circuit court order, and the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed. Crosland then filed a petition for extraordinary relief in district court pursuant to rule 65B of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court denied the petition. Crosland sought relief in the Utah Court of Appeals a second time. The court summarily denied the second petition as well. Crosland now petitions this court for an extraordinary writ in the nature of mandamus.

Our review of applicable law begins with the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, adopted by Utah in 1967. 1967 Utah Laws ch. 205. In Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 438-42, 101 S.Ct. 703, 706-08, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981), the Supreme Court held that the IAD was an interstate compact governed by federal law under Article 1, Section 10, [945]*945Clause 3 of the United States Constitution.2 Codified at Utah Code Ann. § 77-29-5 (1990), Utah's IAD is identical to that adopted by Idaho, the District of Columbia, the United States, and forty-six other states. See Fex, — U.S. at -, 113 S.Ct. at 1087.

The IAD’s stated purpose is to “encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of ... charges [outstanding against a prisoner] and determination of the proper status of any and all detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints.” United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 343, 98 S.Ct. 1834, 1839, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978) (quoting article I of the IAD). The statute is designed to protect the interests of the party states as well as the rights of prisoners to a speedy trial. See State v. Stilling, 770 P.2d 137, 140 (Utah 1989); see also Commonwealth v. Martens, 398 Mass. 674, 500 N.E.2d 282, 286 (1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1041, 107 S.Ct. 1982, 95 L.Ed.2d 821 (1987); Amiger v. Long, 101 A.D.2d 616, 474 N.Y.S.2d 852, 853-54 (1984).

The Agreement accomplishes these purposes by enumerating certain procedures through which prisoners can demand disposition of pending charges in another jurisdiction and by allowing member states to obtain prisoners being held by other member states. These procedures begin only after “a ‘detainer’ is filed with the custodial (sending) State by another State (receiving) having untried charges pending against the prisoner; to obtain temporary custody, the receiving State must also file an appropriate ‘request’ with the sending State.” Mauro, 436 U.S. at 343-44, 98 S.Ct. at 1839. Custodial officials must then notify the prisoner of the detainer. IAD art. III(c).

The prisoner can then invoke the Agreement’s protections by filing a written request for disposition of the charges underlying the detainer with custodial officials. IAD arts. 111(a) & V(c).3 The Agreement requires that the custodial official forward the prisoner’s request to the court and the prosecutor in the receiving state. The custodial official includes along with the forwarded request an offer to provide temporary custody and certain additional information enumerated in the statute. Upon receiving the request, the receiving state must bring the prisoner to trial within 180 days. IAD art. 111(a).

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

Related

People v. Payne
2015 IL App (2d) 120856 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2015)
in Re Charles L. Ryan
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004
State v. Somerlot
544 S.E.2d 52 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2001)
State v. Brocksmith
888 P.2d 703 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1994)
Crosland v. State
857 P.2d 943 (Utah Supreme Court, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
857 P.2d 943, 219 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 1993 Utah LEXIS 107, 1993 WL 300934, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crosland-v-state-utah-1993.