State v. Sindak

774 P.2d 895, 116 Idaho 185, 1989 Ida. LEXIS 80
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMay 9, 1989
Docket17426
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 774 P.2d 895 (State v. Sindak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Sindak, 774 P.2d 895, 116 Idaho 185, 1989 Ida. LEXIS 80 (Idaho 1989).

Opinions

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of the misdemeanor crime of enticing children, I.C. § 18-1509, entered following trial in the magistrate court. Following an appeal to the district court, the judgment and conviction were affirmed. An appeal was taken therefrom to the Court of Appeals, which reversed the judgment of conviction on the basis that the statutory right to a speedy trial had been violated. State v. Sindak, 113 Idaho 893, 749 P.2d 1018 (Ct.App.1988). The State of Idaho brings this appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeals. We reverse and remand with instructions to the magistrate court that the judgment of conviction be reentered.

The sole question presented on this appeal are the implications and applicability to the present state of facts of I.C. § 19-3501(3). That statute provides in pertinent part:

The court, unless good cause to the contrary is shown, must order the prosecution or indictment to be dismissed, in the following cases:
3. If a defendant, charged with a misdemeanor offense, whose trial has not been postponed upon his application, is [186]*186not brought to trial within six (6) months from the date that the defendant enters plea of not guilty with the court.

Defendant Sindak was charged in the magistrate court of the misdemeanor crime of enticing children. During the ensuing six months, the Sindak case had been scheduled for trial on two separate occasions. Due to the overcrowding of the magistrate court calendar, both trial dates were vacated. The record contains no showing that Sindak objected to the said vacating of the trial dates. We note parenthetically that statistics and records indicate that the dockets of the magistrate courts in Ada County are overcrowded in the extreme. It is common for a magistrate to set for trial six to ten misdemeanor cases at the same time on the same day. This is done in the hopes that most of those cases set will be vacated through a guilty plea. Statistics reveal that approximately forty-four thousand misdemeanor and traffic infraction cases are processed by the magistrate courts in the Fourth Judicial District of Idaho per year. “The Idaho Courts 1987 Annual Report Appendix,” p. 80.

In the instant case, Sindak’s trial was commenced six months and twenty-four days after he had entered his plea of not guilty. Sindak moved for dismissal on the grounds that his statutory right to a speedy trial had been violated. I.C. § 19-3501(3). That motion was denied, the cause proceeded to trial, and the defendant was convicted as charged. An appeal was taken to the district court as aforesaid, and the conviction was affirmed.

Thereafter Sindak appealed to the Court of Appeals. There it was found that the trial delay was attributable to the court, and such delay and rescheduling had not been requested, caused or stipulated to by the defendant. Likewise, there is no showing here that the delay and rescheduling was requested, caused or stipulated to by the prosecution. The Court of Appeals held that the delay in trial violated the guarantees of the statute, and ordered the judgment of conviction vacated. From that decision the State brings this appeal asserting the applicability of the balancing test enunciated in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). The State argues that applying the Barker balancing test to the instant facts requires the validation and affirmation of the defendant’s conviction in the instant ease.

We note that Sindak did not assert, nor did the Court of Appeals base its decision upon a constitutional right to a speedy trial, as guaranteed by the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution, nor any provision of the Idaho Constitution. Rather, the decision of the Court of Appeals was based solely upon an asserted violation of Sindak’s statutory right under I.C. § 19-3501.

We hold that the Court of Appeals in the instant case erred in relying almost exclusively upon the decision in State v. Hobson, 99 Idaho 200, 579 P.2d 697 (1978). In Hobson, as in the instant case, the Court declined to address the issue of the applicability of the sixth amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteeing the right to a speedy trial. The Court in Hobson rather, focused solely upon the Idaho statute which is a predecessor of the statute at issue in the instant case. The statute considered in Hobson required a defendant to be tried during the next term of court after the information is filed. The opinion in Hobson emphasized the need for such trial during the next term of court unless good cause to the contrary is shown. The Court noted that the State “has not shown any justification for failure to prosecute appellant during the two intervening terms of court ... as is required by I.C. § 19-3501.” Thereafter, in State v. Talmage, 104 Idaho 249, 658 P.2d 920 (1983) and the case of State v. Campbell, 104 Idaho 705, 662 P.2d 1149 (Ct.App.1983), the courts considered the same necessity for trial at the following term of court as required by the statute. The facts in both Talmage and Campbell differ somewhat from the instant case in that part of the delays were attributable to the defendant. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeals stated in Campbell:

Prejudice is a central factor in analyzing the right to speedy trial, (citation omit[187]*187ted). Where a defendant fails to make a showing of reasonable possibility of prejudice, this factor should be given very little weight, if any, for the defendant. Here there is no contention that Campbell’s ability to present his defense was impeded by the delay. He has not alleged or shown that he was prejudiced by the delay in any way. We can ascribe no weight to the factor of prejudice in this case.

Campbell, 104 Idaho at 711, 662 P.2d 1149. The decision of this Court in State v. Carter, 103 Idaho 917, 655 P.2d 434 (1982) was likewise based upon the then statute requiring trial of criminal cases at “the next term of court in which the indictment is triable.” In Carter this Court held that “the ‘balancing test’ laid down in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), for interpreting the federal guarantee of speedy trial, is consistent with the protection afforded by our own state constitution and statutes.” 103 Idaho at 921, 655 P.2d 434. (Emphasis added.) The Court in Carter then proceeded to consider the factors of the Barker balancing test and rejected the claim of violation to a speedy trial after a delay of fourteen months.

The Court of Appeals in the instant case focused almost exclusively upon the decision of this Court in Hobson, and made only passing reference to the decision of this Court in State v. Russell,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Brett J. Jacobson
283 P.3d 124 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Harrison
214 P.3d 664 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Lopez
160 P.3d 1284 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Clark
16 P.3d 931 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2000)
State v. Avelar
931 P.2d 1222 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1996)
State v. Cada
923 P.2d 469 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1996)
State v. Beck
913 P.2d 1186 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1996)
State v. Garcia
892 P.2d 903 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1995)
State v. Wengren
889 P.2d 96 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1995)
State v. Naccarato
878 P.2d 184 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1994)
State v. Lund
858 P.2d 829 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. Cotant
852 P.2d 1384 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Wavrick
844 P.2d 712 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1992)
State v. Johnson
803 P.2d 557 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1990)
Matter of Cummings
800 P.2d 687 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1990)
State v. Aberasturi
786 P.2d 592 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1990)
State v. Kysar
783 P.2d 859 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Sindak
774 P.2d 895 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 P.2d 895, 116 Idaho 185, 1989 Ida. LEXIS 80, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sindak-idaho-1989.