United States v. Story

125 F. App'x 646
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 9, 2005
Docket03-6260
StatusUnpublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 125 F. App'x 646 (United States v. Story) 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. Story, 125 F. App'x 646 (6th Cir. 2005).

Opinion

*648 OPINION

NORRIS, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Joseph Story appeals from a jury verdict that found him guilty of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, 21 U.S.C. § 846, and of possessing narcotics with the intent to distribute them, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). On appeal, he contends that the district court erred in three respects: 1) by not dismissing the indictment based upon a violation of the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (“the Act”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-74; 2) by not suppressing evidence derived from post-arrest interviews that Story gave to an FBI agent without benefit of counsel; and 3) by enhancing his base offense level by two points because he possessed a firearm during a drug transaction, U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(b)(l) (2002), and by sentencing him to a higher drug quantity than what was reflected by the jury’s guilty verdict.

I.

On March 26, 2002, a grand jury returned a nine-count indictment that charged three individuals with various drug trafficking activities in the Johnson City, Tennessee area. Story was named in the general conspiracy count, as well as in two substantive counts that alleged possession with intent to distribute. Story was arrested on April 1, co-defendant Angelo Hinson on May 21, and co-defendant Derek Tapp on July 16. All were detained pending trial.

The details of the drug trafficking operation are not particularly relevant to the issues presented to us on appeal. As charged in the indictment, the group dealt crack cocaine for about a year beginning in February 2001.

After the verdict, the district court sentenced Story to 360 months of imprisonment, ten years of supervised release, and imposed an assessment of $200.

II.

The Speedy Trial Act

The provisions of the Act were recently summarized by this court:

The Act mandates that “that a defendant be brought to trial within seventy days from the date of arrest, the filing of the indictment or information, or the first appearance before the court, whichever is later.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(c). An indictment must be dismissed if a criminal defendant is not tried within the time allowed by the Act. 18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(2). The Act, however, contains numerous provisions permitting the tolling of the 70-day period, including “delay resulting from any proceeding, including any examinations, to determine the mental competency ... of the defendant; ... delay resulting from any pretrial motion, from the filing of the motion through the conclusion of the hearing on, or other prompt disposition of, such motion; [and] ... delay reasonably attributable to any period, not to exceed thirty days, during which any proceeding concerning the defendant is actually under advisement by the court.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(1).
Moreover, delays due to continuances granted by the court are excluded if “the ends of justice served by taking such action outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.” 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A). The trial court must state on the record, however, either orally or in writing, “its reasons for finding that the ends of justice served by the granting of such continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.” Id.; see also United States v. Crawford, 982 F.2d 199, 204 (6th Cir. *649 1993) (dismissing the indictment because the trial court did not state on the record its “ends-of-justice” reasoning).
Where, as is the case at bar, multiple defendants are charged together and no severance has been granted, one speedy trial clock governs. 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7). As such, the excludable delay of one defendant is ascribed to that of all of his codefendants. United States v. Culpepper, 898 F.2d 65, 66-67 (6th Cir.1990).

United States v. Cope, 312 F.3d 757, 776-77 (6th Cir.2002). Moreover, “[w]e review the district court’s ‘ends of justice’ determination for abuse of discretion.” United States v. Barnes, 251 F.3d 251, 256 (1st Cir.2001) (citing United States v. Mitchell, 723 F.2d 1040, 1044 (1st Cir.1983)).

On July 1, 2002, Story filed three motions: for an extension of time to file further motions, for disclosure of exculpatory evidence, and for severance from co-defendants who had yet to be apprehended. He followed up these motions with a motion to dismiss on July 16 based upon an alleged violation of his right to a speedy trial.

The final co-defendant, Tapp, was arraigned on July 16, 2002. Trial was initially scheduled for August 22, 2002. On July 30, however, both Hinson and Tapp filed motions to continue the August 22 trial date.

After conducting a hearing, a magistrate recommended that the motion to dismiss be denied because the delay was “reasonable” as used in 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7). The district court adopted the recommendation on August 23. The magistrate also denied the motion to sever.

On August 5, the district court granted the motions to continue the trial from August 22 to November 5, stating that “this delay is in the interest of justice and pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(8)(A) to permit the defendants additional time to prepare for trial, review the evidence, and prepare and file motions.” A second continuance was granted on the motion of defendant Hinson in an order filed August 23, which set a trial date of November 19. Once again, the district court invoked the “interest of justice” language in its order.

Story benefitted from these continuances even though he did not request them. In September he filed a motion to suppress evidence that was gathered as a result of statements given to an FBI agent without the benefit of counsel. An evidentiary hearing was conducted in October.

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Related

United States v. Safi Sobh
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United States v. Sobh
571 F.3d 600 (Sixth Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Story
503 F.3d 436 (Sixth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Louis F. Pirani
406 F.3d 543 (Eighth Circuit, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
125 F. App'x 646, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-story-ca6-2005.