United States v. Williams

557 F.3d 943, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 3465, 2009 WL 415263
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 20, 2009
Docket08-1269
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 557 F.3d 943 (United States v. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. Williams, 557 F.3d 943, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 3465, 2009 WL 415263 (8th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

John Jacob Williams was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and crack, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was then sentenced to 300 months by the district court. 1 Williams appeals, asserting violations of the Speedy Trial Act and the Sixth Amendment. We affirm.

I.

On March 8, 2006, a cooperating individual placed a recorded call to Williams and offered to purchase cocaine and cocaine base. While law enforcement listened, Williams and the confidential informant discussed the details of the transaction and where they would meet. A short time later Williams and several women arrived at the predetermined location where their car was stopped by the police. Officers *946 ordered Williams and his companions from the vehicle at gunpoint. Before Williams got out of the car, one of the officers noticed a handgun inside it. Williams accepted responsibility for it, saying “[i]t’s mine, not the girls.” After Williams was removed from the vehicle, he told the police that he also had dope in his pocket. He was then placed under arrest and searched; cocaine and crack were recovered from his pockets. During a subsequent search of Williams’ home, the police recovered two kilograms of powder cocaine, a large sum of cash, and ammunition.

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Williams confessed to trafficking in large amounts of cocaine and to possessing a weapon in support of the operation. He also indicated he wanted to cooperate and subsequently placed a phone call to an associate, Michael Broadway, who was wanted on a homicide charge in Illinois. Broadway was apprehended as a result of this phone call. Williams informed the officers that he wanted to continue to help and urged them to “[p]ut [him] on a plane .... to Chicago right now.” Two detectives and a prosecutor from Chicago interviewed Williams about Broadway on March 19, 2006 at the Sherburne County jail. In the presence of his attorney at the time, Robert Paule, Williams provided a voluntary statement. Following this interview, the prosecution and Paule agreed to allow Williams to travel to Chicago to testify before the state grand jury which was investigating Broadway.

After consultation with the defense, the prosecution filed a motion on March 29, 2006 to enlarge the time to indict. The motion was granted, and Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 9, 2006 on one count of possession with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A). Williams pled not guilty at his arraignment on May 17, 2006.

Williams was transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago (MCCC) on June 7, 2006. Because Williams expressed concern that he might be recognized as a cooperating witness, defense counsel, the state prosecutors, and the Drug Enforcement Administration attempted to limit the time Williams spent in Chicago. Shortly before Williams’ scheduled grand jury appearance, however, his unit at MCCC was placed on extended quarantine due to an outbreak of measles. The quarantine was not lifted until July 7, 2006, and on July 14 Williams filed a pro se motion under the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161-74(STA), seeking dismissal of the complaint for failure timely to indict. Williams nevertheless continued to cooperate with authorities in Chicago, and he testified before the state grand jury on August 29, 2006.

Although Williams’ cooperation was complete by the end of August, he remained at MCCC until November 1, 2006. During this time he filed two more pro se motions. On September 13 he filed “Defendant’s Brief on Title 18 United States Code,” challenging the legality of Title 18. The second, dated September 22, 2006, entitled “Affidavit of Truth by John Jacob Williams,” realleged a violation of the STA. Within the affidavit Williams also expressed dissatisfaction with Paule and his wish that his July 14, 2006 motion not be “changed in any way unless that changed [sic] is approved and signed by the defendant.” Shortly thereafter, Williams fired Paule and sought appointed counsel. Williams was returned to Minnesota on November 11, 2006, and on November 28 John Hughes was appointed to represent him.

Plea negotiations between the defense and the prosecution were unsuccessful, and *947 Williams was charged in a three count superseding indictment on January 9, 2007 with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and crack, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). Shortly thereafter Williams scheduled a hearing in front of Judge Kyle for the purpose of waiving his speedy trial rights; Judge Kyle indicated that he would want a personal waiver on the record. Williams decided against the waiver just prior to the commencement of the hearing which was then cancelled.

Appointed counsel filed a series of pretrial motions for Williams on January 80, 31 and February 1, 2007, including a motion to dismiss under the STA for failure timely to indict. At a hearing on February 15 the government advised the magistrate judge that it would conduct additional research before addressing the STA motion. The magistrate judge requested briefs from both parties on the issues but the defense did not provide any further briefing, and the magistrate judge denied the motion as abandoned without addressing its substance. Defense counsel filed a general objection to the report and recommendation (R & R) but did not address any speedy trial issue. On April 9, 2007, the district court adopted the R & R and issued an order denying the STA motion.

Williams’ counsel filed another motion to dismiss under the STA for failure timely to indict on April 13, 2007. The defense amended this motion on April 26 to allege an additional statutory violation for failure to bring the defendant to trial within 70 days and a constitutional claim under the Sixth Amendment. The STA and Sixth Amendment motions were heard before a magistrate judge on May 1, 2007.

The magistrate judge issued a R & R denying the STA motions on June 4, 2007, after concluding that the indictment period had been extended pursuant to § 3161(h)(2) and that the statutory 70 day period to bring Williams to trial had not yet expired. The magistrate judge did not reference Williams’ Sixth Amendment speedy trial argument, and the defense did not object to this omission in its objections to the R & R.

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

Related

Roberts v. Warden
D. South Dakota, 2025
United States v. Earl Rice
Eighth Circuit, 2023
United States v. Roger Cooley
63 F.4th 1173 (Eighth Circuit, 2023)
United States v. Rene Johnson
990 F.3d 661 (Eighth Circuit, 2021)
United States v. Kamal J. James
712 F. App'x 154 (Third Circuit, 2017)
United States v. Robin Sims
847 F.3d 630 (Eighth Circuit, 2017)
United States v. Martin Villalobos
560 F. App'x 122 (Third Circuit, 2014)
State v. Ollivier
Washington Supreme Court, 2013
Young v. United States
953 F. Supp. 2d 1049 (D. South Dakota, 2013)
John Williams v. United States
705 F.3d 293 (Eighth Circuit, 2013)
United States v. Bloate
655 F.3d 750 (Eighth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. DeYoung
414 F. App'x 143 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
Kowalak v. Scutt
712 F. Supp. 2d 657 (E.D. Michigan, 2010)
United States v. Bonilla-Filomeno
579 F.3d 852 (Eighth Circuit, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
557 F.3d 943, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 3465, 2009 WL 415263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-williams-ca8-2009.