Mars v. United States

443 F. Supp. 774, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20153
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 13, 1978
DocketCiv. A. No. 7-70165 and Crim. A. No. 4-82908
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 443 F. Supp. 774 (Mars v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mars v. United States, 443 F. Supp. 774, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20153 (E.D. Mich. 1978).

Opinion

[775]*775OPINION

FEIKENS, District Judge.

Petitioner was convicted of bank robbery on September 26, 1975 and sentenced by this court to a ten (10) year prison term and a consecutive six (6) month term for criminal contempt. The bank robbery conviction was to run concurrently with a sentence of two to fifteen (2-15) years which petitioner was then serving under a state conviction for armed robbery. He now brings a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 seeking to have the judgment and sentence vacated on the ground that Article IV §§ (c) and (e) of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (IAD) were violated.

A hearing was held in this matter and extensive documentary evidence submitted on stipulation of the parties. The chronology of relevant events and pertinent documents is as follows:

1974:
10/15 Petitioner was sentenced to 2-15 years in prison by Circuit Judge Julian E. Hughes, Berrien County, Michigan.
10/24 Federal Complaint and Warrant (# 4-82908) for unarmed bank robbery issued.
10/30 Federal detainer directed to Sheriff of Berrien County, received at Jackson State Prison 11/18/74.
11/4 Petitioner arrived at Reception and Guidance Center, Jackson State Prison.
11/13 Federal detainer directed to Jackson State Prison, received 11/18/74.
11/25 Detainer noted by state prison authorities.
12/31 Petitioner transferred from Reception and Guidance Center at Jackson State Prison to Ionia State Reformatory.
1975:
2/5 Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issued.
2/13 Petitioner released from Ionia State Reformatory to Federal custody. Detainer directed to Ionia State Reformatory.
2/14 Arraignment on Complaint. Petitioner returned to Ionia State Reformatory. Detainer received by Ionia State Reformatory.
2/25 Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issued.
3/3 . Petitioner released from Ionia State Reformatory to Federal custody. 3/5 Petitioner returned to Ionia State Reformatory.
4/22 Federal Bank Robbery Complaint dismissed for no progress.
5/28 Detainer noted by state prison authorities.
6/18 Detainer noted by state prison authorities.
7/16 Federal Bank Robbery Indictment filed (# 4-82908). Detainer noted by state prison authorities.
7/21 Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issued.
7/24 Petitioner released from Ionia State Reformatory to Federal custody. 7/25 Arraignment on Federal Bank Robbery Indictment. Federal docket indicates “Detainer noted only — deft, remanded.”
7/31 Petitioner returned to Ionia State Reformatory.
9/11 Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issued. Petitioner released from Ionia State Reformatory to Federal custody.
9/15 Federal bank robbery trial begins.
9/26 Guilty verdict.
10/1 Petitioner returned to Ionia State Reformatory. Detainer noted by state prison authorities.
11/26 Federal Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issued.
12/3 Petitioner released from Ionia State Reformatory to Federal custody. 12/4 Petitioner sentenced to 10 years for bank robbery. Detainer directed to Ionia State Reformatory.
12/5 Petitioner returned to Ionia State Reformatory.

[776]*776Petitioner claims two separate violations of the IAD. He claims that § IV(c) was violated because of the failure of the government to try him within 120 days of his first arrival in federal custody; he also claims that § IV(e) was violated because on three separate occasions the government took him from state to federal custody and returned him to state custody without a trial.1

The crucial question in this case is whether the provisions of the IAD were triggered by the procedures and documents employed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has made it clear that a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum is not a “detainer” for purposes of the IAD. Ridgeway v. United States, 558 F.2d 357 (6th Cir. 1977). What remains to be determined is whether the use of the writ in this case triggered the provisions of the IAD.

Article IV, section (a) provides that:

The appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information, or complaint is pending shall be entitled to have a prisoner against whom he has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party State made available in accordance with article V(a) hereof upon presentation of a written request for temporary custody or availability to the appropriate authorities of the State in which the prisoner is incarcerated: Provided, That the court having jurisdiction of such indictment, information, or complaint shall have duly approved, recorded, and transmitted the request: And provided further, That there shall be a period of thirty days after receipt by the appropriate authorities before the request be honored, within which period the Governor of the sending State may disapprove the request for temporary custody or availability, either upon his own motion or upon motion of the prisoner, (emphasis supplied)

The phrase “written request” does not refer to the ancient writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. Nowhere in IAD is the writ mentioned. This writ has been used in this country for over 200 years to secure the appearance of prisoners at trial. It was embodied in the First Judiciary Act, 1 Stat. 81-82 (1789) and is now incorporated in 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(5) and the laws of many states. In Ridgeway, supra, the Sixth Circuit discusses at length the distinction between the writ and a detainer, and “refuse to interpret the word ‘detainer’ to include the writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum.” At 362.

If the “written request” spoken of in the IAD is to encompass the writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, the agreement and supporting legislation would have to say so explicitly. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(5) codifies its use in the federal courts, and nowhere is there any expression of congressional intent to modify or change the use of the writ. Ridgeway, supra. The interpretation of the IAD proposed by petitioner would implicitly repeal § 2241(c)(5) and runs counter to fundamental rules of statutory construction.

In Ridgeway, supra

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Related

United States v. Fred Hill
622 F.2d 900 (Fifth Circuit, 1980)
Mars v. United States
463 F. Supp. 87 (E.D. Michigan, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
443 F. Supp. 774, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mars-v-united-states-mied-1978.