State v. Butler

249 N.E.2d 818, 19 Ohio St. 2d 55, 48 Ohio Op. 2d 77, 1969 Ohio LEXIS 335
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 9, 1969
DocketNo. 68-623
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 249 N.E.2d 818 (State v. Butler) 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. Butler, 249 N.E.2d 818, 19 Ohio St. 2d 55, 48 Ohio Op. 2d 77, 1969 Ohio LEXIS 335 (Ohio 1969).

Opinions

Schneider, J.

Appellant raises two significant constitutional questions in this appeal: First, whether a 22-month delay between preliminary hearing and indictment denies an accused his right to a “speedy trial” under the Ohio and United States constitutions. Second, whether in cross-examination of a defendant the prosecutor may use prior inconsistent statements of the defendant, made to police without Miranda warnings, in order to impeach his credibility?

The law of Ohio is that the right to a speedy trial is not self-executing. Affirmative action on the part of an accused in the nature of a demand to be tried is necessary [57]*57to invoke the constitutional protection. Partsch v. Haskins (1963), 175 Ohio St. 139; Crider v. Maxwell (1963), 174 Ohio St. 190; State v. Cunningham (1960), 171 Ohio St. 54; Ex parte McGehan (1872), 22 Ohio St. 442.

The majority of jurisdictions are in accord with Ohio:

“It has been held generally that an accused is not entitled to a discharge for delay in bringing him to trial unless it appears that he resisted postponement, demanded a trial, or made some effort to procure a speedier trial than the state accorded him. ...” Annotation, 57 A. L. R. 2d 302, 326.

We find no evidence in the record that appellant demanded a trial or inquired as to the status of his case. He was not incarcerated but was free on bond during the entire 22-month delay. This belies indigency, which is not urged. During this time he could have employed counsel, contacted witnesses and prepared to prove his innocence. He suffered none of the incapacities or disadvantages of an accused who must await trial delays while incarcerated. It is claimed that he suffered the anxiety and suspicion of one who must bear an untried accusation of crime. Cf. People v. Prosser (1955), 309 N. Y. 353, 130 N. E. 2d 891. However, this posture is defeated by lack of any action on his part to ascertain the status of the charge against him.

Appellant’s right to a speedy trial under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution is no broader than under the Ohio Constitution. The United States Supreme Court extended the Sixth Amendment guarantee to state trials in Klopfer v. North Carolina (1967), 386 U. S. 213. That reasoning supports our position here. In Klopfer, the accused affirmatively demanded trial. He filed a motion with the court to ascertain when the state intended to bring him to trial, and demanded that the charge pending against him be permanently concluded. The actions of appellant in this case do not even remotely resemble those of Klopfer. Accordingly, we find no violation of the appellant’s Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment right to speedy trial.

We pause to stress, however, that the reason for de[58]*58lay in trial here was a clerical error. If the prosecutor had used the delay, as in Klopfer v. North Carolina, supra, to indefinitely postpone prosecution and place the accused under curtailment of his liberty and under fear of revived prosecution, we would not hesitate to condemn the procedure. The delay here is conceded to have been caused by the oversight of the clerk of court and the failure of the accused to assert his right.

Appellant’s second contention is that the prosecution violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by using statements of his which were made to police during in-custody interrogation with no warning of his right to silence or to counsel. The questioning occurred after arrest, on November 20, 1965, which was prior to the United States Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U. S. 436. It was held there that the prosecution’s use of statements of an accused, made to police without prior warnings of his rights to remain silent, to counsel and appointed counsel if indigent, was a violation of the accused’s Fourteenth and Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In Johnson v. New Jersey (1966), 384 U. S. 719, the court held that the rule of Miranda applied to all trials commenced after its date of announcement, June 13, 1966. The delayed trial in the instant case occurred on May 15, 1968, making Miranda applicable.

The appellant took the stand and, on cross-examination by the prosecution, he made assertions as to the facts surrounding the crime. A recorded statement appellant made to a detective after arrest was then read to him to show a prior inconsistent statement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 N.E.2d 818, 19 Ohio St. 2d 55, 48 Ohio Op. 2d 77, 1969 Ohio LEXIS 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-butler-ohio-1969.