Speedy Trial Act

Bloate v. United States

Issues

Is time to prepare pretrial motions, when requested by the defendant, automatically excluded from calculating the Speedy Trial Act’s requirement that trials occur within seventy days of an indictment, or the defendant’s first appearance in court, whichever is later?

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The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (“STA”) requires that a criminal defendant be brought to trial within seventy days of either his or her indictment or first appearance in court. Under the STA, several delays are automatically excluded from the seventy-day period, including delays related to pretrial motions. During the lead-up to Taylor Bloate’s (“Bloate”) trial, the District Court granted then-defendant Bloate’s request for extra time to prepare pretrial motions. At issue in this case is whether the time to prepare pretrial motions, when requested by a defendant, is automatically excluded from the STA’s seventy-day period. If this preparation time is included, the period between Bloate’s indictment and trial would exceed seventy days, and Bloate’s indictment would not stand. Conversely, if it is not included, the period would be less than seventy days, and Bloate’s indictment would stand. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case will resolve a circuit court split and will also have significant effects on federal criminal procedure, the interests of criminal defendants, the and the interests of the general public in maintaining a fair and efficient criminal justice system.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

Whether the time granted to prepare pretrial motions is excludable under §3161(h)(1). As the Eighth Circuit explicitly acknowledged below, this question has divided the courts of appeals. The Fourth and Sixth Circuits have answered it in the negative; the Eighth Circuit and seven other circuits have answered it in the affirmative.

Under the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (“STA”), a criminal defendant is entitled to a trial within seventy days after an indictment is issued, or the defendant’s first appearance before a federal court, whichever is later. See 18 U.S.C.

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Additional Resources

·      Annotated U.S. Constitution: Sixth Amendment (Speedy Trial)

·      U.S. Department of Justice: Speedy Trial Act

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United States v. Tinklenberg

Issues

If a pretrial motion does not threaten to postpone or actually postpone a trial, is the time necessary for the trial court to resolve the motion excluded from the 70-day time limit for beginning trial under the Speedy Trial Act?

 

The United States indicted Respondent Jason Tinklenberg for illegal possession of a handgun and materials used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, or “crystal meth.” On the last business day before his trial, Tinklenberg filed a motion to dismiss the indictment for violation of the Speedy Trial Act. The Speedy Trial Act requires certain federal criminal trials to begin within 70 days of the defendant’s first appearance before the court, unless certain “delays,” including the filing of pretrial motions, occur. The government argues that two of its pretrial motions qualify as excludable delays. Tinklenberg argues that because these pretrial motions did not result in a postponement of the trial date, the Speedy Trial Act does not exclude them from the 70-day count. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Tinklenberg, finding that 73 non-excludable days occurred before Tinklenberg’s scheduled trial date, and remanded the case to the lower court for dismissal. The Supreme Court's decision will settle which pretrial motions are excludable from the Speedy Trial Act’s 70-day count, and could affect the trial strategy of prosecutors and criminal defendants.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

Whether the time between the filing of a pretrial motion and its disposition is automatically excluded from the deadline for commencing trial under the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, 18 U.S.C. 3161(h)(I)(D) (Supp. II 2008), or is instead excluded only if the motion actually causes a postponement, or the expectation of a postponement, of the trial.

Police officers arrested Respondent Jason Louis Tinklenberg after they found in his possession a .22 caliber pistol and materials commonly used to make methamphetamine, otherwise known as “crystal meth.” See Brief for Petitioner, United States of America at 5. On October 20, 2005, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan charged Tinklenberg with poss

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Additional Resources

·          Department of Justice, Criminal Resource Manual: Speedy Trial Act of 1974

·          Federal Judicial Center: How Cases Move Through Federal Courts

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Zedner v. United States

Issues

First, could Zedner waive his right to a prompt trial under the Speedy Trial Act, and, second, assuming a violation of the Act actually occurred, was the Second Circuit justified in excusing the violation as harmless error because it did not prejudice Zedner?

 

The Speedy Trial Act requires that criminal defendants be brought to trial within 70 days of being charged, otherwise the accused is entitled to a mandatory dismissal of the charges. The Act also enumerates certain circumstances that allow the courts to delay the time of trial without need for dismissal. In this case, the Court of Appeals held that Jacob Zedner waived his right to speedy trial and caused much of the delay. Thus, even though the trial court’s reasons for delay did not exactly fall within the Speedy Trial Act’s list of exceptions, those reasons for delay were too negligible to justify dismissal. The Supreme Court must decide if the Second Circuit properly refused to dismiss on the basis of Zedner’s alleged waiver, or if that waiver and the Second Circuit’s holding are inconsistent with the language and purpose of the Speedy Trial Act. Hopefully, this case will provide a much-needed, uniform interpretation of the Speedy Trial Act, giving the federal courts a more predictable and consistent basis to judge this persistently troublesome right.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

1. Whether, in light of the statute's text and Congress's goal of protecting the public interest in prompt criminal trials, the requirements of the Speedy Trial Act may be waived only in the limited circumstances mentioned in the statute, the issue left open in New York v. Hill, 528 U.S. 110, 117 n.2 (2000).

2. Whether a violation of the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day time limit for bringing a defendant to trial is subject to harmless error analysis, despite the statute's mandatory language stating that, in the event of a violation, the “indictment shall be dismissed.”

During March 1996, Jacob Zedner tried to open an account with several financial institutions using a fake $10 Million bond issued by the fictitious “Ministry of Finance of U.S.A.” U.S. v. Zedner, 401 F.3d 36, 39 (2nd Cir. 2005) [hereinafter “Zedner III”].

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