Rodiack v. State

2002 WY 137, 55 P.3d 1, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 150, 2002 WL 31102900
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 23, 2002
Docket01-114, 01-115
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2002 WY 137 (Rodiack v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodiack v. State, 2002 WY 137, 55 P.3d 1, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 150, 2002 WL 31102900 (Wyo. 2002).

Opinion

VOIGT, Justice.

[11] John Rodiack and Charles Rodiack (appellants), father and son, appeal their convictions for felony interference with a peace officer. They claim that their right to a speedy trial was violated and they raise several evidentiary issues. We conclude that the violation of W.R.Cr.P. 48 requires reversal, and we remand to the district court for entry of an order of dismissal without prejudice.

ISSUES

1. Does the violation of W.R.Cr.P. 48(b) require reversal of the appellants' convie-tions?

2. Was it error in a joint trial to admit one appellant's out-of-court statements?

3. Was the jury properly instructed on the law?

4. Was it error not to allow evidence to rebut Officer Davies' direct testimony and evidence as to his violent nature?

5. Was it error to allow evidence of uncharged misconduct as to John Rodiack?

6. Was there sufficient evidence to support the convictions?

FACTS

[12] On the evening of November 24, 1999, Officers Adam Davies (Davies) and Tim Robinson (Robinson) of the Rock Springs Police Department entered the Bomber's Sports Bar to perform a bar check. The *2 appellants were present in the bar. While the officers spoke to the bartender, Charles Rodiack approached Davies. The officers' version and the appellants' version of what followed differ considerably. Given our disposition of this case, the detailed facts of the fracas are not too significant. Suffice it to say that a conversation between Charles Ro-diack and Davies about Davies' earlier arrest of Charles Rodiack's girlfriend, Toni Beard, ended up in a full-scale brawl involving Charles Rodiack, John Rodiack, Davies and Robinson. John Rodiack and Charles Ro-diack were both arrested and charged with felony interference with a police officer, and both were convicted in a joint jury trial.

DISCUSSION

SPEEDY TRIAL

[13] A criminal defendant's right to a speedy trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, before embarking on a constitutional analysis, we first review claims of a speedy trial violation under W.R.Cr.P. 48(b). Hauck v. State, 2001 WY 119, 112, 36 P.3d 597, 600 (Wyo.2001). Relevant to the current inquiry are five provisions of W.R.Cr.P. 48(b):

(2) A criminal charge shall be brought to trial within 120 days following arraignment unless continued as provided in this rule.
"eo deck
(4) Continuances not to exceed six months from the date of arraignment may be granted by the trial court as follows:
(A) On motion of defendant supported by affidavit; or
(B) On motion of the attorney for the state or the court if:
(i) The defendant expressly consents;
(ii) The state's evidence is unavailable and the prosecution has exercised due diligence; or
(iii) Required in the due administration of justice and the defendant will not be substantially prejudiced; and
(C) If a continuance is proposed by the state or the court, the defendant shall be notified. If the defendant objects, the defendant must show in writing how the delay may prejudice the defense.
(5) Any request to continue a trial to a date more than six months from the date of arraignment must be directed to the court to which appeals from the trial would be taken and may be granted by that court in accordance with paragraph (4).
shook ok
(8) A dismissal for lack of a speedy trial under this rule shall not bar the state from again prosecuting the defendant for the same offense unless the defendant made a written demand for a speedy trial or can demonstrate prejudice from the delay. 1

[T4] For the most part, application of W.R.Cr.P. 48(b) is a simple matter of arithmetic. The rule was designed so that, at the outset of the case, the district court would set a trial date within 120 days of the arraignment. If necessary during that 120-day period, the district court could continue the trial to a later date within the six-month limit. When the 120th day arrived, if the trial had not been held or continued pursuant to the rule, the case was to be dismissed. If, for some reason, the trial could not be reset to a date within the six-month limit, the district court had to apply to this Court for approval to hold the trial beyond that limit.

[T5] There does not appear to have been rauch of an attempt in the instant case to meet the requirements of W.R.Cr.P. 48(b). John Rodiack and Charles Rodiack were arraigned in the district court on May 8, 2000. The rule required the trial to take place or be continued as provided in the rule within 120 days of the date of arraignment, which was September 5, 2000. The rule also pro *3 vided that the district court could continue the trial for up to six months from the date of arraignment, but onee again, only as provided in the rule. That date was November 4, 2000. What actually happened was that on July 14, 2000, sixty-seven days after arraignment, the district court signed an order setting a scheduling conference for August 2, 2000. On August 30, 2000, the district court filed another order setting the joint trial for October 17, 2000. That joint trial date was forty-two days beyond the 120-day setting limit and there had been no continuances granted as provided by the rule. These cases should have been dismissed on September 5, 2000. Instead, the joint trial was held on November 18, 2000.

[16] It is true that, on August 3, 2000, the day after the scheduling conference, John Rodiack and Charles Rodiack each signed a Waiver of Speedy Trial specifically referene-ing the rule's 120-day limit. Perhaps those waivers were meant to be the equivalent of a motion for continuance by the appellants under W.R.Cr.P. 48(b)(4)(A), or the equivalent of a consent to a similar motion by the State under W.R.Cr.P. 48(b)(4)(B)(i). We cannot tell from the records, which contain neither a setting within the 120-day limit nor a motion for a continuance beyond the 120-day limit.

[17] If this was the only speedy trial problem, there might be a stronger argument for the proposition that such a technical violation does not warrant reversal and dismissal. But the joint trial was not held on its assigned date of October 17, 2000. During a motion hearing on August 25, 2000, it came to the attention of the district court and counsel that the joint trial might take more than the allotted three days. After the district court and counsel evaluated their calendars, the joint trial was reset for November 13, 2000, which is the date it was eventually held. That date was beyond six months from the date of arraignment.

[18] The district court and counsel were aware of, but not too concerned with, the six-month deadline contained in W.R.Cr.P.

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

Related

Tony Scott Cercy v. The State of Wyoming
2019 WY 131 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2019)
Osban v. State
439 P.3d 739 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2019)
Miller v. State
2009 WY 125 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2009)
Berry v. State
2004 WY 81 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Newman
2004 WY 41 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2004)
Dean v. State
2003 WY 128 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 WY 137, 55 P.3d 1, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 150, 2002 WL 31102900, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodiack-v-state-wyo-2002.