United States v. Jimmie White

920 F.3d 1109
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 10, 2019
Docket16-1009
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 920 F.3d 1109 (United States v. Jimmie White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jimmie White, 920 F.3d 1109 (6th Cir. 2019).

Opinions

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Following our circuit's binding precedent, we previously held in this case that preindictment plea negotiations are "period[s] of delay resulting from other proceedings concerning the defendant" that are automatically excludable under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1) of the Speedy Trial Act. United States v. White , 679 F. App'x 426, 431 (6th Cir. 2017) (citing *1111United States v. Dunbar , 357 F.3d 582, 593 (6th Cir. 2004), vacated and remanded on other grounds , 543 U.S. 1099, 125 S.Ct. 1029, 160 L.Ed.2d 995 (2005) ; United States v. Bowers , 834 F.2d 607, 609-10 (6th Cir. 1987) (per curiam)). Defendant challenged this precedent for the first time in his petition for a writ of certiorari as inconsistent with the Supreme Court's intervening decision in Bloate v. United States , 559 U.S. 196, 130 S.Ct. 1345, 176 L.Ed.2d 54 (2010). Petition for Writ of Certiorari at 22-23, White v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 641, 199 L.Ed.2d 522 (2018) ( No. 17-270 ). The government then changed horses in midstream, conceding-also for the first time before the Supreme Court-that our circuit precedent was incorrect and inconsistent with Bloate , and that the roughly two-week continuance to engage in preindictment plea negotiations here did not qualify for automatic exclusion under § 3161(h)(1). Response to Petition for Writ of Certiorari at 8-11, White v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 641, 199 L.Ed.2d 522 (2018) ( No. 17-270 ). The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated our judgment, and remanded the case back to us "for further consideration in light of the confession of error by the Solicitor General." White v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 641, 641, 199 L.Ed.2d 522 (2018).

On remand, we now hold that Bloate abrogated Dunbar and Bowers . Nevertheless, we deny defendant relief for two independent reasons. First, he cannot overcome plain-error review of his Bloate argument. Second, and alternatively, the time for preindictment plea negotiations was properly excluded as an ends-of-justice continuance under § 3161(h)(7) of the Speedy Trial Act. Therefore, we again affirm the judgment of the district court.

I.

Our prior opinion sets forth the facts pertinent to this remand:

On April 29, 2013, the government filed a complaint against White charging him with drug distribution and firearm crimes related to the May 14, 2010, search and seizure. White was arrested on those charges, and an order of temporary detention was entered, on May 2, 2013. He made his initial appearance the next day and was released on bond.
After his arrest, the parties engaged in preindictment plea negotiations. To that end, they filed a stipulation with the district court on May 17, 2013, agreeing to adjourn White's preliminary hearing and exclude the time between May 23, 2013, and June 7, 2013, from White's Speedy Trial Act clock. Plea negotiations were not successful, and a grand jury indicted White on June 4, 2013.

White , 679 F. App'x at 429. Including those days expressly excluded by the court, thirty-three days passed between White's arrest and indictment.

While he filed a bevy of motions before the district court, pertinent to our inquiry is only White's pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment because the government violated his speedy trial rights. Defendant's motion simply announced that the government failed to indict him within thirty days of his arrest in violation of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seq ., but substantively argued only his rights under the Speedy Trial Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, U.S. CONST. amend. VI. The district court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss, denied it, a jury convicted White of multiple crimes, and the district court sentenced him to 84 months in prison. We affirmed his conviction and sentence, rejecting his claim the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment for violations of the Speedy Trial Act and the Sixth Amendment's Speedy Trial Clause. See White , 679 F. App'x at 430-33. Following *1112remand from the Supreme Court, we give a fresh look to this issue.

II.

The Sixth Amendment provides that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy ... trial." U.S. CONST . amend. VI. The Speedy Trial Act strengthens this constitutional mandate by establishing time limits for completing the various stages of a federal criminal prosecution. 18 U.S.C.

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920 F.3d 1109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jimmie-white-ca6-2019.