State v. Hayes

2009 NMCA 008, 200 P.3d 99, 145 N.M. 446
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 5, 2008
Docket28,055
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2009 NMCA 008 (State v. Hayes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hayes, 2009 NMCA 008, 200 P.3d 99, 145 N.M. 446 (N.M. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} Defendant Robert Hayes appeals from the district court’s judgment, partially suspended sentence, and commitment to the penitentiary. He contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for the violation of his right to a speedy trial. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

{2} On April 14, 2006, the State filed a criminal complaint in magistrate court charging Defendant with fraud over $250, a fourth-degree felony under NMSA 1978, § 30-16-6 (1987) (amended 2006), and cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor under NMSA 1978, § 30-18-l(B)-(D) (2001) (amended 2007). Defendant was arrested on June 9, 2006 and released the same day after securing a $5000 surety bond. The magistrate court imposed several restrictions on Defendant in conjunction with his release. On July 14, 2006, Defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and the magistrate court’s order binding Defendant over for trial in the district court was filed in that court on July 24, 2006. The next day, the State filed a criminal information in the district court that included the same charges that were included in the magistrate court criminal complaint. Defendant filed a waiver of arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty in the district court on August 3, 2006 and, apparently because his attorney did not sign that pleading, again on August 7, 2006. Defendant also filed a demand for a speedy trial on August 3, 2006. On September 28, 2006, while on release in this case, Defendant was convicted in another case and sentenced to a term of eighteen months of incarceration. The district court suspended that sentence and instead placed Defendant on probation, with conditions and under supervision, for the eighteen-month period.

{3} The district court judge who was first assigned to the case at issue in this appeal scheduled it for a December 6, 2006 trial on a trailing docket, but the State filed a notice of excusal of that judge. The case was then set for a November 6, 2006 trial on a trailing docket before another judge. However, that trial setting was vacated because another case against a different defendant proceeded to trial. On December 18, 2006, the district court set the case for trial on January 31, 2007, again on a trailing docket. On January 17, 2007, the State filed a petition for an extension of time to commence Defendant’s trial under Rule 5-604 NMRA. Over Defendant’s objection, the district court granted an extension until May 3, 2007. On March 26, 2007, the district court set Defendant’s case for trial on a trailing docket for April 26, 2007. That setting was also vacated because another case proceeded to trial. On May 29, 2007, our Supreme Court, over Defendant’s objection, granted the State’s petition for another extension of time to commence Defendant’s trial under Rule 5-604. That order required the State to commence Defendant’s trial by August 3, 2007.

{4} On June 14, 2007, the State moved the district court to review the conditions of Defendant’s release and to revoke his bond because he had violated its conditions, as well as his conditions of probation in another case. The district court subsequently issued a bench warrant for Defendant’s arrest on June 26, 2007. On June 29, 2007, the district court set Defendant’s case on the fraud and animal cruelty charges for trial on August 2, 2007.

{5} On July 18, 2007, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for the violation of his right to a speedy trial. The State filed a response, and, after a hearing, the district court denied Defendant’s motion. On July 31, 2007, Defendant entered a conditional plea of no contest to the charges, reserving his right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss. The district court adjudicated Defendant’s guilt and entered its judgment, partially suspended sentence, and commitment to the penitentiary, from which Defendant appeals.

MOTION FOR SPEEDY TRIAL

{6} The district court order denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss sets forth findings of fact and conclusions of law. Defendant does not dispute the findings of fact and challenges only the conclusions of law. As a result, we undertake a de novo review of the district court’s application of the law to the facts. See State v. Brown, 2003-NMCA-110, ¶ 11, 134 N.M. 356, 76 P.3d 1113.

{7} We first address an issue of agreement between the parties. The district court applied State v. Garcia, 110 N.M. 419, 796 P.2d 1115 (Ct.App.1990), and concluded as an independent ground for denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss that, in granting the State’s petition for an extension, “[t]he Supreme Court expressly considered the issues underlying Defendant’s claim of a speedy trial violation and thus the extension becomes the law of this case.” Defendant argues that the Supreme Court did not so consider its speedy trial claim, and the State agrees that the district court erred in this regard. In State v. Manzanares, 1996-NMSC-028, ¶ 7, 121 N.M. 798, 918 P.2d 714, our Supreme Court expressed its affirmance of Garcia “to the effect that [its] ruling on a Rule 5-604 motion is not determinative of a subsequent speedy-trial motion except in the unlikely event the record specifically reflects [its] analysis and decision on the issue being raised again below.” There is no such indication in the record in this case, and we agree with the parties that the district court erred in applying Garcia.

{8} We thus turn to Defendant’s argument that he was denied his right under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution to a speedy trial. We address Defendant’s argument by balancing the factors discussed in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972): “(1) the length of the delay, (2) the reasons for the delay, (3) the defendant’s assertion of his right, and (4) prejudice to the defendant.” State v. Johnson, 2007-NMCA-107, ¶ 5, 142 N.M. 377, 165 P.3d 1153.

{9} The parties do not agree as to the length of the delay. Defendant asserts that his speedy trial right attached with the filing of the criminal complaint in magistrate court on April 14, 2006, resulting in a delay exceeding fifteen months. The State takes the position that the right attached with the filing of the criminal information in district court on July 25, 2006, because, until then, the district court did not have jurisdiction to try Defendant. According to the State, the delay was therefore twelve months. Despite the parties’ disagreement, we need not address this issue. The parties agree that Defendant’s case was a simple one, giving rise to a presumptively prejudicial delay after nine months. See Salandre v. State, 111 N.M. 422, 428, 806 P.2d 562, 568 (1991) (“We are of the opinion that nine months marks the minimum length of time that may be considered presumptively prejudicial, even for a case such as this involving simple charges and readily-available evidence.”). With this presumptively prejudicial delay, the State has the burden of showing, when balancing the Barker factors, that Defendant’s right was not violated. Zurla v. State, 109 N.M. 640, 646, 789 P.2d 588

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2009 NMCA 008, 200 P.3d 99, 145 N.M. 446, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hayes-nmctapp-2008.