Shumaker v. State

956 So. 2d 1078, 2007 WL 1413078
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 15, 2007
Docket2006-KP-00039-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 956 So. 2d 1078 (Shumaker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shumaker v. State, 956 So. 2d 1078, 2007 WL 1413078 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

956 So.2d 1078 (2007)

Phillip SHUMAKER, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KP-00039-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 15, 2007.

*1081 Phillip Shumaker, Appellant, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry, Attorney for Appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., CHANDLER and GRIFFIS, JJ.

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Phillip Shumaker was indicted on May 6, 2005, in the Circuit Court of Lowndes County for the sale of cocaine. However, at the time of Shumaker's indictment, he was awaiting trial in Tennessee on unrelated felony charges. Shumaker was later convicted of the charges pending in Tennessee and the State of Mississippi moved to amend the indictment against Shumaker so as to charge him as a habitual offender based upon his three felony convictions in Tennessee. However, the trial court did not grant the State's motion to amend the indictment at that time. The trial proceeded in Lowndes County on November 29, 2005, and Shumaker was found guilty. Thereafter, Shumaker filed post-trial motions. Before the trial court ruled on Shumaker's post-trial motions, an order was entered amending the indictment to reflect Shumaker's habitual offender status. Shumaker was then convicted and sentenced as a habitual offender to serve a term of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). By virtue of the habitual offender status, his sentence was ordered to be served without eligibility for parole or probation. Shumaker now appeals to this Court, requesting review of fourteen issues. For the sake of clarity and judicial economy, we have recast and combined several of the issues in our discussion.

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING SHUMAKER'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO GRANT A SPEEDY TRIAL?

*1082 ¶ 2. Shumaker asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for failure to provide him a speedy trial because the delay violated his rights guaranteed under both federal and state law. The State argues that the trial court properly denied Shumaker's motion to dismiss for failure to provide a speedy trial based upon its finding that he had not met the initial requirement of showing presumptive prejudice. We are to review trial court decisions to deny motions to dismiss for manifest error. Mitchell v. State, 792 So.2d 192, 213(¶ 80) (Miss.2001).

¶ 3. Both federal and state laws protect a criminal defendant's right to a speedy trial. When an appellant asserts a violation of his rights under the United States Constitution and under the laws of Mississippi, we are to employ two separate analyses in our review. The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed under federal law by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and is applicable to the state via the Fourteenth Amendment. Mississippi constitutionally[1] protects the right to a speedy trial and statutorily[2] limits the time in which a defendant must be tried. While the right to a speedy trial is protected both constitutionally and statutorily, "[a]ny inquiry into a violation of the right to a speedy trial must necessarily begin with an analysis of our state statutory right, as the State has the right to craft laws so long as they are not in violation of the minimum standards set by the federal constitution." Guice v. State, 952 So.2d 129 (¶ 63) (Miss.2007).

¶ 4. Our legislature has limited the time frame for which a criminal defendant must be tried under the "270 day" rule pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-17-1. The rule provides that charges under indictments must be tried within the next 270 days after arraignment, unless good cause is shown and a continuance is granted. Shumaker waived arraignment on August 15, 2005, and his trial began 106 days later on November 29, 2005. The elapsed time period, for the purposes of a speedy trial analysis under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-17-1, falls within the acceptable parameters and does not violate the 270-day rule. Therefore, Shumaker's assertion of a violation of his right to a speedy trial, pursuant to the laws of Mississippi, fails. A determination of whether an accused has been afforded a speedy trial within the parameters set forth in Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-17-1 requires a stricter analysis than what is constitutionally required. Thus, it follows that if the time period that an accused has had to wait before going to trial is not violative of the mandate of Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-17-1, then a state constitutional violation has not occurred either.

¶ 5. Nevertheless, we proceed with our analysis of Shumaker's claim that his right to a speedy trial was unconstitutionally denied in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.[3] The United States *1083 Supreme Court identified four factors courts must use in determining whether a criminal defendant's right to a speedy trial has been violated pursuant to the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). These enumerated factors have been adopted by our courts so that we review on a case-by-case basis "(1) the length of delay, (2) the reasons for the delay, (3) assertion of his right to a speedy trial, and (4) prejudice to the defense." Sharp v. State, 786 So.2d 372, 380(¶ 15) (Miss.2001).

¶ 6. Our discussion of whether Shumaker incurred a prejudicial pre-trial delay begins with addressing the first factor of the Barker analysis: the length of the delay. This factor has been described as somewhat of a "triggering mechanism." Until it is established that there has been some delay which is presumptively prejudicial, there is no need for further analysis of the remaining balancing factors. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182; Perry v. State, 637 So.2d 871, 874 (Miss.1994). Our supreme court has established that "a delay of eight (8) months or more [between arrest and trial] is presumptively prejudicial." Reynolds v. State, 784 So.2d 929, 933(¶ 10) (Miss.2001). However, in a situation where the accused is already detained in another jurisdiction, we are to use the date of extradition to determine the time that the constitutional right to a speedy trial attached. Price v. State, 898 So.2d 641, 648(¶ 13) (Miss.2005). An accused's constitutional right to a speedy trial arises on the date of extradition because this is the time the "actual restraints [are] imposed by the State against [an accused] through an arrest and institution of criminal charges." Id.

¶ 7. In this case, a warrant was issued by Lowndes County, Mississippi for Shumaker's arrest on August 24, 2004 for the sale of cocaine in Mississippi; however, at this time Shumaker was in the custody of Tennessee awaiting trial on other unrelated charges. Mississippi sent an extradition notice to officials in Tennessee and Shumaker waived extradition on June 22, 2005, following his conviction in Tennessee. Shumaker later waived his arraignment on August 15, 2005, and went to trial on November 25, 2005, on the charge of selling cocaine in Mississippi. Only 161 days elapsed between the time of his waiver of extradition and his trial, which is approximately two and one-half months shy of reaching a presumptively prejudicial amount of time. Thus, the delay was not presumptively prejudicial against Shumaker, so that the analysis goes no further. Perry, 637 So.2d at 874.

¶ 8.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
956 So. 2d 1078, 2007 WL 1413078, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shumaker-v-state-missctapp-2007.