State v. Goodman, Unpublished Decision (5-15-2006)

2006 Ohio 2374
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided May 15, 2006·No. No. 13-05-09.·Unpublished·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Anthony Goodman (hereinafter "Goodman") appeals the judgment of the Seneca County Court of Common Pleas denying his motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds.

{¶ 2} On September 23, 2004, Goodman was arrested for stabbing his wife with a box cutter. Goodman was subsequently indicted for felonious assault, a violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) and a felony of the second degree.

{¶ 3} On February 1, 2005, Goodman filed a motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds. In his motion to dismiss, Goodman asserted that the triple count provision of R.C. 2945.71(E) applied and his right to a speedy trial was violated when he was not brought to trial within ninety days. The trial court held an initial hearing on the motion to dismiss on February 3, 2005, the morning of Goodman's first day of trial. Thereafter, the trial court continued the hearing on the motion to dismiss and proceeded to Goodman's trial. The following day Goodman moved for a mistrial, which the trial court subsequently granted.

{¶ 4} On February 23, 2005, the trial court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds. The trial court denied Goodman's motion. Subsequently, on March 10, 2005, Goodman changed his plea to no contest. The trial court then sentenced Goodman to three years imprisonment to be served consecutively to the sentence imposed by the Vigo County Court of Common Pleas in Indiana for a parole violation.

{¶ 5} It is from this judgment denying the motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds that Goodman appeals and sets forth two assignments of error for our review. For clarity of analysis, we have combined Goodman's two assignments of error.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. I
The trial court erred in not crediting the defendant threedays for each day held in jail in lieu of bail for the purposesof computing speedy trial time as per Ohio Revised Code Section2945.71(E).

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. II
The finding by the trial court that the state had overcome itsburden to show that the defendant was not entitled to thebenefits of the triple-count provision of R.C. 2945.71(E) wasagainst the manifest weight of the evidence.

{¶ 6} In his first assignment of error, Goodman argues that there is no credible evidence that he was being held on a valid parole holder. Goodman further argues that even if the parole holder was valid, there is no evidence that it was in effect before the speedy trial time period had elapsed. In his second assignment of error, Goodman argues the state failed to meet its burden that the parole holder was valid, and that the parole holder applied to him.

{¶ 7} "[T]he Ohio speedy trial statute is mandatory, constitutional, and must be construed strictly against the state." State v. Steinke, 158 Ohio App. 3d 241, 2004-Ohio-1201, 814 N.E.2d 1230, at ¶ 5, citing State v. Singer (1977),50 Ohio St. 2d 103, 4 O.O.3d 237, 362 N.E.2d 1216. Under the Ohio speedy trial statute, an accused who has been charged with a felony must ordinarily be brought to trial within two hundred and seventy days of his or her arrest. R.C. 2945.71(C)(2). However, in computing the amount of time that has elapsed for speedy trial purposes "each day during which the accused is held in jail in lieu of bail on the pending charge shall be counted as three days." R.C. 2945.71(E).

{¶ 8} Once the accused alleges in the motion to dismiss that he or she was incarcerated solely on the pending charge and presents evidence that he or she was not brought to trial within the speedy trial time limits imposed by the triple count provision, then the accused has presented a prima facie case of a violation of his or her speedy trial rights. State v. Butcher (1986), 27 Ohio St.3d 28, 31, 27 O.B.R.445, 500 N.E.2d 1368. The burden then shifts to the state to demonstrate that the accused was not entitled to a trial within the time limits provided by the triple count provision. Id.

{¶ 9} Goodman asserts that he was arrested on September 23, 2004, and that he has been held in jail from that date until the filing of his motion to dismiss on February 1, 2005, therefore more than ninety days elapsed. Consequently, Goodman presented a prima facie case that his right to a speedy trial was violated. The burden then shifted to the state to demonstrate that Goodman was not entitled to the triple count provision. The state asserted that the triple count provision does not apply in this case because Goodman was placed on a holder on September 24, 2004, and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued by Vigo County, Indiana on October 22, 2004.

{¶ 10} The triple count provision of R.C. 2945.71(E) only applies to an accused who is "being held in jail solely on the pending charges in the particular case." State v. Maag, 3d Dist. No. 5-03-32, 2005-Ohio-3761, ¶ 11, citations omitted. The triple count provision does not apply "[e]ven though the state did not introduce documentary evidence of a holder, the record amply demonstrates that [the accused] was wanted on open warrants in other jurisdictions and that his detention was not solely due to the pending charges * * *." State v. Brewster,157 Ohio App.3d 342, 2004-Ohio-2722, 811 N.E.2d 162, ¶ 4, citations omitted.

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State v. Goodman, Unpublished Decision (5-15-2006), 2006 Ohio 2374 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).

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