State v. Broughton

581 N.E.2d 541, 62 Ohio St. 3d 253, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 2888
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 18, 1991
DocketNo. 91-742
StatusPublished
Cited by147 cases

This text of 581 N.E.2d 541 (State v. Broughton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Broughton, 581 N.E.2d 541, 62 Ohio St. 3d 253, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 2888 (Ohio 1991).

Opinion

Holmes, J.

The primary issue before the court is whether the time in which to bring Broughton to trial on his second indictment had expired, pursuant to Ohio’s speedy-trial statute. For the reasons that follow, we answer such query in the negative.

[256]*256I

Speedy-Trial Computation

The key fact we must discern from the record in this case is how much time had run against the state pursuant to R.C. 2945.71 et seq., in order to determine whether Broughton’s speedy-trial rights were violated.

The right to a speedy trial is encompassed within the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that an “accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial * * See, also, Section 10, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. Moreover, the availability of a speedy trial to a person accused of a crime is a fundamental right made obligatory on the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. See Klopfer v. North Carolina (1967), 386 U.S. 213, 222-223, 87 S.Ct. 988, 993, 18 L.Ed.2d 1, 8; State v. Singer (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 103, 106, 4 O.O.3d 237, 238, 362 N.E.2d 1216, 1218, at fn. 2.

In State v. Pachay (1980), 64 Ohio St.2d 218, 18 O.O.3d 427, 416 N.E.2d 589, syllabus, we observed that R.C. 2945.71 et seq. “ * * * constitute a rational effort to enforce the constitutional right to a public speedy trial of an accused charged with the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor and shall be strictly enforced by the courts of this state.” Moreover, as was emphasized in State v. Pudlock (1975), 44 Ohio St.2d 104, 106, 73 O.O.2d 357, 358, 338 N.E.2d 524, 525, we will not permit the state to engage in “ * * * practices which undercut the implementation of the ‘speedy trial’ provisions within R.C. 2945.71 and 2945.73 * * In reviewing whether a particular practice has undercut the implementation of the speedy-trial provisions, we approve of the language in United States v. Turner (C.A.9, 1991), 926 F.2d 883, 889, which stated:

“To determine whether the government has violated a defendant’s right to a speedy trial, we weigh the length of the delay, the reasons for it, the defendant’s timeliness and manner of asserting this right, and whether the defendant has suffered cognizable prejudice. * * * Recognized prejudices are oppressive pretrial punishment, protracted anxiety and impairment of defense. * * * No single factor is either necessary or sufficient to establish a violation.” (Citations omitted.) See, also, United States v. Taylor (1988), 487 U.S. 326, 340-341, 108 S.Ct. 2413, 2421, 101 L.Ed.2d 297, 313; Barker v. Wingo (1972), 407 U.S. 514, 537, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2195, 33 L.Ed.2d 101, 121 (White, J., concurring).

Further, as applicable in this case, R.C. 2945.71(C)(2) provides that a person against whom a charge of felony is pending “[sjhall be brought to trial within two hundred seventy days after his arrest.” Consequently, the speedy-trial [257]*257statute required Broughton to be brought to trial within 270 days of his original indictment dated November 17,1988, unless tolled for reasons permitted under the statute. In order to determine the exact number of days that should have been tallied against the state it is necessary to separate and examine certain relevant periods in order to ensure they were properly characterized as either tolling the speedy-trial statute or allowing it to run.2

A

The first period we shall examine is the time between the return of the original indictment on November 17, 1988 and the trial court’s dismissal (because of the defective indictment) on July 18, 1989. This period equals 243 days. However, since it is undisputed that Broughton spent one day in jail in lieu of bail on the pending charge, an additional two days must be tacked on to the first day already counted against the state pursuant to R.C. 2945.71(E).3 Thus, the total number of days counted against the state until the dismissal of the original indictment was 245.

B

The next time period we construe is from the day after the trial court’s dismissal of the first indictment (charging corruption of a minor), July 19, 1989, until October 18, 1989, the day preceding Broughton’s subsequent indictment on two counts of rape. This period is the time between indictments where Broughton was not under any stigma associated with a criminal proceeding.

[258]*258In reviewing the dictates of R.C. 2945.71, we are cognizant that the speedy-trial statute shall run against the state only during the time in which an indictment or charge of felony is pending. See R.C. 2945.71(C). However, this does not directly address the situation where a person has previously been charged under an indictment which was dismissed and the same underlying facts provide the basis for a new indictment. In Westlake v. Cougill (1978), 56 Ohio St.2d 230, 233, 10 O.O.3d 382, 383, 383 N.E.2d 599, 601, we tolled the speedy-trial statute during the time period between a nolle prosequi of a misdemeanor charge and the service of summons of a second filing of a misdemeanor charge arising out of the same conduct, since no charge was pending against the defendant during that period. See, also, State v. Spratz (1979), 58 Ohio St.2d 61, 62, 12 O.O.3d 77, 388 N.E.2d 751, 752, fn. 2 (the speedy-trial statute was tolled following a nolled indictment until the date of reindictment); State v. Stephens (1977), 52 Ohio App.2d 361, 371, 6 O.O.3d 404, 409-410, 370 N.E.2d 759, 766 (where dismissal is premised on prosecutorial fault and the defendant is subsequently reindicted, speedy-trial time runs during the time of incarceration pending trial under the original indictment, in addition to the time spent pending trial under the reindictment; but defendant’s release without bail upon dismissal of the original indictment tolls the speedy-trial time between the dismissal and the reindictment because during such time no charge is pending). Similarly, in State v. Bonarrigo (1980), 62 Ohio St.2d 7,16 O.O.3d 4, 402 N.E.2d 530, we held that the speedy-trial statute was tolled after a misdemeanor charge was nolled until such time as a felony indictment, based upon the same conduct, was handed down. In ensuring that the accused’s statutory rights were adequately protected, we noted in Bonarrigo:

“ ‘ * * * After the Government’s dismissal of the complaint against him appellant * * * was no longer under any of the restraints associated with arrest and the pendency of criminal charges against him. He was free to come and go as he pleased. He was not subject to public obloquy, disruption of his employment or more stress than any citizen who might be under investigation but not charged with a crime. Unless and until a formal charge was filed against him, neither he nor the public generally could have any legitimate interest in the prompt processing of a nonexistent case against him.’

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Bluebook (online)
581 N.E.2d 541, 62 Ohio St. 3d 253, 1991 Ohio LEXIS 2888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-broughton-ohio-1991.