Roesch v. State

2008 WY 141, 196 P.3d 795, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 156, 2008 WL 5055859
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 2, 2008
DocketS-08-0067, S-08-0068
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2008 WY 141 (Roesch 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
Roesch v. State, 2008 WY 141, 196 P.3d 795, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 156, 2008 WL 5055859 (Wyo. 2008).

Opinion

KITE, Justice.

[T1] James Allen Roesch claims the State violated his right to speedy sentencing when it failed to retrieve him from federal authorities so that it could sentence him within one year after he pleaded guilty to state charges. We conclude the State presented sufficient facts and cireumstances to excuse the delay and, consequently, affirm.

ISSUE

[¶ 2] Mr. Roesch presents the following issue on appeal:

Whether the imposition of Defendant's sentences over one year after his guilty verdict violated his right to speedy sentencing under Rule 32 W.R.Cr.P. or the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article 1 § 10 of the Wyoming Constitution.

The State restates the issue as:

Did impermissible delay occur in Appellant's sentencing, and did the district court therefore abuse its discretion when it sentenced Appellant?

FACTS

[¶ 3] The underlying facts of this case are not in dispute. Mr. Roesch pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to one count of larceny and one count of aggravated burglary. The charges were brought in separate cases in the state district court, but he was arraigned on those charges at the same time on February 6, 2006. Sentencing was scheduled for May 1, 2006. In the meantime, Mr. Roesch was indicted in federal court on two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms. Before he could be sentenced in state court, federal authorities took custody of Mr. Roesch pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum.

[T4] Mr. Roesch remained in federal custody until the federal charges were resolved on October 19, 2007, at which point he was returned to state custody. The state district court then held a hearing on a motion to dismiss sentencing filed by Mr. Roesch in June 2007 and denied it. On December 3, *797 2007, the district court sentenced Mr. Roesch consistent with the plea agreement to serve 8 to 10 years of imprisonment on the aggravated burglary charge and 4 to 5 years on the larceny charge. The district court ordered his sentences to be served concurrent to one another and to his federal sentence. Mr. Roesch appealed.

DISCUSSION

[T5] Mr. Roesch challenges the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss for violation of his right to a speedy sentencing. The district court has broad discretion in making sentencing decisions. Daugherty v. State, 2002 WY 52, ¶ 12, 44 P.3d 28, 33 (Wyo.2002). "This Court will not disturb a sentence on the ground of sentencing procedures absent a showing by the defendant of an abuse of discretion, procedural conduct prejudicial to him, cireumstances that manifest inherent unfairness and injustice, or conduct that offends the public sense of fair play." Id., (citing Brower v. State, 1 P.3d Similarly, we have 1210, 1216 (Wyo.2000)). specifically stated that we review claims of violations of the right to speedy sentencing under the abuse of discretion standard. Schade v. State, 2002 WY 133, ¶ 14, 53 P.3d 551, 557 (Wyo.2002).

[¶ 6] W.R.Cr.P. 32(c)(1) directs that "[slentence shall be imposed without unnee-essary delay." We recognized the right to a speedy sentencing in Yates v. State, 792 P.2d 187 (Wyo.1990). Considering the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure 1 and concerns of fundamental fairness as dictated by constitutional due process guaranties, we stated:

We elect to hold that a delay in sentencing in excess of one calendar year from the date guilt is established, either by trial, whether to a jury or to the court, or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, is presumptively unreasonable. A court may not pronounce sentence on a defendant after the expiration of such time, unless the record clearly establishes those facts and cireumstances that excuse the delay, thus making later imposition of the sentence reasonable. The State must bear the burden of establishing those facts and cireum-stances.... While we hold that the delay in excess of one year is presumptively unreasonable, we do not hold that the delay serves to deprive the district court of jurisdiction. Rather, we hold that the delay exceeds the bounds of reason if it occurs beyond that date and, in the interest of fairness, due process of law, and expeditious handling of court matters, a court should be foreclosed from imposing sentence after the one year period of time.

Id. at 191. 2 See also, Daugherty, ¶¶ 33-44, 44 P.3d at 38-40 (applying Rule 32(c)(1)).

[¶ 7] We explained the rationale behind the rule as follows:

The rule that we espouse protects important rights of the convicted defendant. It serves to prevent the possibility that a greater punishment than is deserved will be imposed because of subsequent conduct that results in a violation of the probation. It also serves to ensure that any vagaries of memory will not interfere with the imposition of a sentence appropriate to the individual and the crime.

Yates, 792 P.2d. at 192 (citations omitted).

[¶ 8] Mr. Roesch pleaded guilty to the state charges on February 6, 2006, and he was not sentenced until December 3, 2007. The delay between his guilty plea and sentencing was obviously more than one year; *798 consequently, under Yates, the delay was presumptively unreasonable and the State was obligated to show facts and cireum-stances which excused the delay.

[¶ 9] The State claims the delay was reasonable because Mr. Roesch had been taken into custody by federal authorities pursuant to the writ. The State argues it was unable to regain custody of Mr. Roesch until his federal proceedings were completed and he contributed to the delay in those proceedings. Mr. Roesch counters that the State retained custody and/or jurisdiction of him and he was simply "on loan" to, or "borrowed" by, the federal government. He argues, therefore, that the State should have been able to retrieve him in order to sentence him in a timely fashion.

[¶ 10] A writ of habeas corpus ad prose-quendum is used to bring a person who is a prisoner in another jurisdiction before a court for proceedings on pending charges. See 39 Am.Jur.2d Habeas Corpus § 6 (2008). 28 U.S.C. $ 2241 provides general authority for federal courts to issue writs of habeas corpus. Although writs of habeas corpus ad prosequendum are not specifically referenced in the federal statute, it is generally recognized that they are allowed under the statutory language which provides that prisoners may be brought before another court "to testify or for trial." 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(5). See also, 39 Am.Jur.2d Habeas Corpus § 6 (2008). The seope of the writ and the resulting relationship between state and federal authorities is not, however, spelled out in the statute.

[¶ 11] Mr. Roesch claims that Brown v. Perrill, 28 F.3d 1073 (10th Cir.1994) (on rehearing), supports his position that the State did not relinquish custody to federal authorities.

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2008 WY 141, 196 P.3d 795, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 156, 2008 WL 5055859, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roesch-v-state-wyo-2008.