United States v. Goodman

36 F. Supp. 2d 947, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 754, 1999 WL 38535
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedJanuary 25, 1999
DocketNo. 5:96-CR-6(WDO)
StatusPublished

This text of 36 F. Supp. 2d 947 (United States v. Goodman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Goodman, 36 F. Supp. 2d 947, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 754, 1999 WL 38535 (M.D. Ga. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER

OWENS, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant Johnny Goodman’s Motion to Dismiss. Defendant asserts the following grounds for dismissal: 1) Violation of the Speedy Trial Act for failure to proceed with a trial within seventy days of arraignment or first appearance pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1), and 2) violation of the Speedy Trial Act for failure to file an information or indictment within thirty days of a defendant’s arrest pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(b) and § 3161(d)(1). Having carefully considered the parties motions, the relevant case law, and the file as a whole, the Court issues the following order.

I.

Violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1)

Procedural History

Defendants Johnny Goodman and Walter Whitehead were first indicted on October 22, 1997 in case number 5:97-cr-80 and charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and seven substantive counts of distribution of crack cocaine. Collaterally, Tracy Bernard Johnson was indicted on November 8, 1996 in case no. 5:96-cr-60. A superseding indictment was entered on May 8, 1997 adding Bernard Goodman to case no. 5:96-cr-60. On November 20, 1997, the Court consolidated the charges in 5:97-cr-80 (against Johnny Goodman and Walter Whitehead) and the charges in 5:96-cr-60 (against Tracy Bernard Johnson and Bernard Goodman) and added new defendants Willie Howard and James Rumph. This indictment was superseded by an indictment entered on September 23, 1998 adding Wendy Goodman. Now before the court is defendant Johnny Goodman Motion to Dismiss filed on November 24,1998.

Law

In order to properly analyze whether or not a violation of the Speedy Trial Act has occurred, a review of the relevant statutes and case law is necessary. The first provision in the Speedy Trial Act which Johnny Goodman claims has been violated is 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1) which states as follows:

In any case in which a plea of not guilty is entered, the trial of a defendant charged in an information or indictment with the commission of an offense shall commence within seventy days from the filing date (and making public) of the information or indictment, or from the date the defendant has appeared before a judicial officer of the court in which such charge is pending, whichever date last occurs...

18 U.S.C. § 3161(c)(1)

Accordingly, the speedy trial clock begins to run upon the later date of the indictment or the defendant’s first appearance. In a case with codefendants, the time period under the Speedy Trial Act begins to run as to all defendants on the date of the last defendant’s arraignment or appearance. U.S. v. Robinson, 731 F.Supp. 1343 (S.D.Ill.1989). The clock runs continuously until the date of trial unless the statute or case law provides an exclusion of time in the calculation. For instance, the speedy trial clock is suspended on a superseding indictment between the time of the indictment and the defendant’s appearance before the judge on the new charges. U.S. v. McKay, 30 F.3d 1418, 1420 (11th Cir.1994), U.S. v. Kelly, 45 [951]*951F.3d 45, 48 (2d Cir.1995). Time attributable to pretrial motions is excludable. However, special care should be taken by the trial court in determining how much time should be excluded from each pretrial motion. See U.S. v. Grosz, 76 F.3d 1318 (5th Cir.1996) (Speedy trial clock is not tolled simply because a pretrial motion is pending; instead, the court must look closely into particular circumstances of that motion, e.g. whether there was a hearing on the motion, or whether the motion was taken under advisement, to determine whether days are excludable). 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(l)(J) provides a thirty day limit on excludability for motions not requiring a hearing before a court but not to motions necessitating a hearing, such as suppression hearings, for which the entire time from filing to conclusion of the hearing is excludable. U.S. v. Phillips, 936 F.2d 1252, 1254 (11th Cir.1991). The day of a status conference is excluded from speedy trial calculations. U.S. v. Maloy, 835 F.Supp. 1373 (M.D.Fla.1993). A motion to substitute counsel excludes certain time periods. See U.S. v. Louis, 814 F.2d 852 (2nd Cir.1987) (despite informality of defendant’s motion to substitute counsel and his failure to serve it on the government, the motion was pending before the district court from time he filed it with the district judge to the time the judge acted thereon, so that this three-month period was properly excluded from time requirements imposed by the Speedy Trial Act). All defendants who are joined for trial generally fall within speedy trial computation of the latest codefendant, and an excludable delay of one eodefendant may be ascribed to all defendants. U.S. v. Blackmon, 874 F.2d 378 (6th Cir.1989), certiorari denied 493 U.S. 859, 110 S.Ct. 168, 107 L.Ed.2d 125. Anything which stops the clock for purposes of the Speedy Trial Act for one defendant also stops the clock for the same period as to all codefendants. U.S. v. Burke, 673 F.Supp. 1574 (N.D.Ga.1986), affirmed 856 F.2d 1492, rehearing denied 867 F.2d 1431, certiorari denied 492 U.S. 908, 109 S.Ct. 3222, 106 L.Ed.2d 571. An important issue is whether the speedy trial clock is tolled or restarts with a new seventy day period upon a superseding indictment. While many circuits make a distinction between whether the former indictment was dismissed based on the governments motion (in which case the time period is tolled) or whether the indictment is dismissed based on a motion by the defendant or by the court sua sponte (in which ease the clock restarts), the Eleventh Circuit made clear that a superseding indictment restarts the clock regardless of how the prior indictment was dismissed. In U.S. v. West, the Court held:

According to the Act and case law in this circuit, the government’s dismissal of West’s original indictment, and the subsequent (“replacement”) indictment, triggered a new seventy-day time period. See 18 U.S.C. § 3161(d)(1); see also U.S. v. Puett, 735 F.2d 1331

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Related

United States v. Grosz
76 F.3d 1318 (Fifth Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Meade
110 F.3d 190 (First Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Tom Henry
698 F.2d 1172 (Eleventh Circuit, 1983)
United States v. Sid Cecil Puett
735 F.2d 1331 (Eleventh Circuit, 1984)
United States v. Eugene Ellsworth Elkins
795 F.2d 919 (Eleventh Circuit, 1986)
United States v. George Kaithovalappil Louis
814 F.2d 852 (Second Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Robert Phillips
936 F.2d 1252 (Eleventh Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Antonio McKay Reginald Housley
30 F.3d 1418 (Eleventh Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Michael Kelly
45 F.3d 45 (Second Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Burke
673 F. Supp. 1574 (N.D. Georgia, 1986)
United States v. Robinson
731 F. Supp. 1343 (S.D. Illinois, 1989)
United States v. Maloy
835 F. Supp. 1373 (M.D. Florida, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
36 F. Supp. 2d 947, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 754, 1999 WL 38535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-goodman-gamd-1999.