Dabney v. State

953 A.2d 159, 2008 WL 2169017
CourtSupreme Court of Delaware
DecidedMay 23, 2008
Docket120, 2007
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 953 A.2d 159 (Dabney v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dabney v. State, 953 A.2d 159, 2008 WL 2169017 (Del. 2008).

Opinion

STEELE, Chief Justice.

Appellant-defendant Chyanne Dabney appeals his Superior Court conviction of Rape Second Degree. 1 At all times between his arrest and conviction, Dabney remained incarcerated solely because he did not have the resources to post bail. Dabney contends that delays in scheduling his trial on the single count of Rape Second Degree violated his right to a speedy trial, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Arti- *160 ele I, Section 7 of the Delaware Constitution. He contends that the State unnecessarily delayed his trial for seven months, despite a court order designed to prevent the delay, by failing to provide timely and complete court ordered DNA discovery and analysis. After review, we hold that the State impermissibly violated Dabney’s right to a speedy trial. Therefore, we reverse his conviction for Rape Second Degree and remand to Superior Court for resentencing on the unchallenged companion convictions.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In November 2005, Dabney’s girlfriend, Maribel Pagan, found a black bag in Dab-ney’s closet containing a vibrator and three Polaroid pictures of Dabney’s 12 year old daughter, Meghan, 2 posing naked with the vibrator. Pagan ran home and called the police, who executed a search warrant at Dabney’s home. The police found the vibrator in a plastic bag in the closet, as well as a Polaroid camera, a green towel, and female clothing visible in the photos. DNA tests revealed both Dabney’s and Meghan’s DNA on the base of the vibrator. Dabney later wrote to Pagan and admitted that he had taken the photos of Meghan.

Police arrested Dabney on November 21, 2005. The Justice of the Peace set secured bail at $95,000 with conditions for release. Dabney was immediately incarcerated in default of bail. According to the docket, his preliminary hearing was held on November 30, 2005. He was bound over for trial. Defense counsel made a general discovery request on December 12, 2005. A grand jury indicted Dabney on January 9, 2006 on nine counts — three counts of Sexual Solicitation of a Child, three counts of Possession of Child Pornography, and three counts of Rape Second Degree. At arraignment on January 17, 2006, the judge increased the amount of secured bail to $145,000.

On February 9, 2006, Superior Court’s first scheduling order set the trial date for April 6, 2006, five months after Dabney’s arrest and incarceration in default of bail. On February 24, 2006, a second Superior Court scheduling order rescheduled the trial date to June 13, 2006, seven months after Dabney’s arrest. The record does not reflect why the Superior Court rescheduled the trial. Dabney’s brief suggests that the rescheduling resulted from the State’s unilateral decision to reindict Dabney. While this may be correct, the grand jury did not reindict Dabney until March 20, 2006, four months after his arrest and one month after Superior Court’s second trial scheduling Order. The rein-dictment added three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child to the original nine counts. At Dabney’s second arraignment on April 11, 2006, a Superior Court judge reduced secured bail to $120,000 and again set conditions for release. Dabney defaulted and remained incarcerated solely for trial on these charges.

The State intended to prosecute Dabney for Rape Second Degree since at least January 9, 2006, and it wanted the DNA analysis relating to those three counts. The State did not, however, deliver DNA evidence to a lab for testing until March 1, 2006, almost four months after arresting Dabney. The March 20, 2006 reindictment did nothing to alter that fact. Yet over four months later (by which time Dabney had been in prison six months awaiting trial on one or more of the charges), less *161 than one month before the trial date on May 17, 2006, the State requested a continuance based in part on “the fact that the DNA analysis is incomplete.” The Superi- or Court noted this precise basis in a May 19, 2006 order in which it continued the trial date to July 13, 2006 (a date eight months after Dabney’s arrest and incarceration). A second reason the State proffered for the continuance was that the then-assigned prosecutor had a scheduling conflict occasioned by another trial. The form requesting the continuance reflects the defense’s opposition to the continuance. The Superior Court’s order appeared to continue the trial, yet also left Dabney’s trial date in place in case the prosecutor received the DNA analysis in a timely fashion and the scheduling conflict was resolved.

The Superior Court’s May 19th order clearly set forth conditions for moving the case along. First, before the DNA information would be admissible in the State’s case against Dabney, the defense would have to have received the expert’s report and the information required by 11 Del. C. § 3515 3 by June 13, 2006. Second, Dab-ney’s new trial on July 13, 2006 — an extension of one month after the second trial date of June 13, 2006 — was “firm and will not be continued.” As matters turned out, June 13, 2006, the second trial date, became nothing more than a discovery deadline. The Superior Court recognized the inherent prejudice that continued delay would cause the incarcerated Dabney. After noting that Dabney remained in custody six months after his arrest, the Superi- or Court wrote that continuing the trial beyond the third trial date of July 13, 2006 “would be inappropriate and unreasonable unless the State is willing to agree that [he] be released from [his] custody status.” The Superior Court went on to advise the prosecutor (Josette Manning) that if she could not try the matter personally, she needed “to have [it] reassigned to another deputy to handle.”

On June 2, 2006, before the discovery response deadline (or the nominal second trial date) of June 13, 2006 set in the order, the State furnished defense counsel with a DNA report, but without the statistical analysis facially contemplated by 11 Del. C. § 3515. The report simply noted that “no statistical analysis was calculated due to the relatedness between Chyanne Dabney and [Meghan] (Father/Daughter).” On June 12, 2006, defense counsel sent the prosecutor an additional four page detailed discovery request, which included a specific request for the statistical analysis not included in the original report. On July 5, 2006, defense counsel received a response to the June 12 request with some supplemental discovery, but no statistical analysis. The State’s very terse cover letter did not explain why the response remained incomplete. 4

On the day before trial, July 12, 2006, defense counsel filed a motion in limine to exclude the DNA evidence, citing specifically the Court’s May 19, 2006 order and including supporting documentation. The motion also pointed to this Court’s decision in Nelson v. State, in which we held that: “DNA evidence is inadmissible in the absence of a statistical interpretation of a declared match. Accordingly, admission of only one of these components without the

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Bluebook (online)
953 A.2d 159, 2008 WL 2169017, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dabney-v-state-del-2008.