State of Arizona v. Steven John Parker

296 P.3d 54, 231 Ariz. 391, 656 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 6, 2013 WL 950032, 2013 Ariz. LEXIS 60
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 13, 2013
DocketCR-10-0196-AP
StatusPublished
Cited by106 cases

This text of 296 P.3d 54 (State of Arizona v. Steven John Parker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Arizona v. Steven John Parker, 296 P.3d 54, 231 Ariz. 391, 656 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 6, 2013 WL 950032, 2013 Ariz. LEXIS 60 (Ark. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

BERCH, Chief Justice.

¶ 1 Steven John Parker was sentenced to death for two murders, and this automatic appeal followed. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. § 13-4031.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1

¶ 2 Wayne and Faye Smith were found murdered in their home on September 26, 2005. Faye’s ankles were bound, and she had been stabbed to death. Wayne also had been stabbed several times, but died from blunt force trauma to his head. The medical examiner could not determine the time of death for either victim, but they were last seen alive two days earlier, on September 24.

¶ 3 Wayne’s wallet and Faye’s purse were missing from the home. On September 24, 2005, between 4:50 and 5:30 p.m., someone used the Smiths’ credit and bank cards at several locations near their home. The next day, the cards were used at an ATM in Quartzsite, Arizona, and at a gas station in Temecula, California.

¶ 4 At the time of the murders, Parker lived next door to the Smiths with a roommate, Tasha Uhl. On September 24, the likely day of the murders, Uhl could not find Parker around 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon, despite calling for him both inside and outside the house. Parker later came in and told Uhl he had been doing yard work and had not heard her call. Uhl left around 5:00 p.m., and Parker’s girlfriend picked him up from the house just over an hour later. The two were together until the morning of Sunday, September 25.

¶ 5 That day, Parker left in Uhl’s ear without her permission. At the time, Parker owed money to his employer. ' He drove to Mexico and then to California. He abandoned the car in San Diego and hitched a ride to Chino, California, where friends told him he was a “person of interest” in the Smiths’ murders. Parker then took a bus to Las Vegas, where he remained for four days until he was arrested and jailed on October 13, 2005. Police questioned Parker about the murders, but charged him only with stealing Uhl’s car and his employer’s money. Parker eventually pleaded guilty to stealing from his employer and was sentenced to probation.

*398 ¶ 6 Shortly after Parker’s release from jail, testing revealed that Parker’s DNA matched DNA from a drop of blood found on the Smiths’ kitchen sink and DNA from a napkin found on the kitchen counter. Police arrested Parker again on May 26, 2006, and charged him with the murders, first degree burglary, and kidnapping.

¶ 7 At trial, Parker testified that he was not involved in the crimes and asserted that another man killed the Smiths. The jury found him guilty of all charges. The jury also found three aggravating factors: pecuniary gain, A.R.S. § 13-751(F)(5); especial cruelty, id. § 13 — 751(F)(6); and multiple homicides, id. § 13-751(F)(8). After finding no mitigation sufficient to call for leniency, the jury determined that Parker should be sentenced to death for each murder.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Speedy Trial

¶ 8 Parker argues that he was denied his right to a speedy trial in violation of the Sixth Amendment. 2 We review issues of constitutional law de novo and related factual determinations for abuse of discretion. State v. Smith, 215 Ariz. 221, 233, ¶ 57, 159 P.3d 531, 543 (2007).

¶ 9 The Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a speedy trial protects a defendant’s right to be brought to trial without undue delay. There is no bright line rule for how quickly a trial must occur. In evaluating such claims, courts weigh (1) the length of the delay, (2) the reason for the delay, (3) the defendant’s assertion of the right to a speedy trial, and (4) the prejudice to the defendant. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972); State v. Spreitz, 190 Ariz. 129, 139, 945 P.2d 1260, 1270 (1997). Parker’s trial began on March 15, 2010, three years and nine months after his May 26, 2006 arrest and June 6, 2006 indictment. Under the first Barker factor, this delay is sufficient to trigger the full Barker analysis.

¶ 10 The second Barker factor requires examination of the reasons for the delay. See Vermont v. Brillon, 556 U.S. 81, 129 S.Ct. 1283, 1290, 173 L.Ed.2d 231 (2009) (analyzing “whether the government or the criminal defendant is more to blame for th[e] delay”) (alteration in original).

¶ 11 During the first year of the case, the defense spent significant time pursuing a motion to remand the case to the grand jury, seeking special action review of the denial of that motion at the court of appeals, and petitioning for review to this Court. On August 15, 2007, the State and defense counsel agreed to exclude 305 days from the time calculation, and Parker waived all applicable time limits.

¶ 12 Parker is also responsible for an eleven-month delay in 2008 and 2009. He asked to delay his trial date because his lead defense attorney had another trial and needed more time to investigate. The trial court rescheduled Parker’s trial and excluded this time, with Parker’s consent.

¶ 13 Parker’s lead attorney then retired at the end of 2008. This caused an additional ten-month delay until March 15, 2010. The State is not responsible for defense counsel’s decision to retire and the resulting delay. Cf. Dies v. State, 926 So.2d 910, 916-17, ¶ 15 (Miss.2006) (“original judge’s retirement and his replacement by the assistant district attorney who was prosecuting this case was [not attributable to] either the State or [the defendant]”).

¶ 14 Parker argues that the delays occasioned by defense counsel’s trial schedule should not be attributed to him because they were caused by underfunding of the criminal justice system and the high number of capital cases in Maricopa County at the time. Delays caused by systemic breakdowns can be charged to the state in certain cases. See Brillon, 129 S.Ct. at 1292. This case, however, does not rise to that level. In State v. Hanger, for example, the county refused to pay defense counsel. 146 Ariz. 473, 474, 706 P.2d 1240, 1241 (App.1985). And in Doggett v. United States, the government was negligent in tracking down the defendant and took eight years to prosecute the case. 505 *399 U.S. 647, 652-53, 112 S.Ct. 2686, 120 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992). Comparable circumstances are not present here.

¶ 15 The third Barker factor requires the defendant to assert his right to a speedy trial in order to establish a constitutional violation. State v. Schaaf, 169 Ariz. 323, 327, 819 P.2d 909, 913 (1991) (stating that speedy trial violation “is waived unless asserted promptly”).

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Bluebook (online)
296 P.3d 54, 231 Ariz. 391, 656 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 6, 2013 WL 950032, 2013 Ariz. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-arizona-v-steven-john-parker-ariz-2013.