STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ROY LEE THADDIES, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The State appealed the discharge of Roy Lee Thaddies under Florida's speedy trial rule. The Fourth District affirmed the discharge, holding that although speedy trial rights do not apply to municipal court proceedings, when a defendant is later charged in state court with a crime based on the same criminal episode as an earlier municipal charge, the speedy trial period runs from the date of the original arrest.
The court affirmed Thaddies' discharge, holding that speedy trial time on the aggravated battery charge commenced on the date of his original arrest (May 28, 1976) for the municipal ordinance violation, not on the date of the later state court charge. Although Rule 3.191 does not apply to municipal court proceedings, when charges based on the same criminal episode are later filed in state court, speedy trial time is measured from the original arrest date.
[1] The speedy trial rule does not apply to proceedings in municipal courts.
[2] For charges arising from the same criminal episode, speedy trial time is measured from the date of the initial arrest, even if earlier charges are dropped and new charges…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The time periods established by this section shall commence when such person is taken into custody as a result of the conduct or criminal episode giving rise to the crime charged.”
Rule 3.191(a)(1) establishing when speedy trial time begins, which applies to later charges based on the same criminal episode as an earlier arrest.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThaddies was arrested on May 28, 1976, for assault and battery under a municipal ordinance and scheduled for trial in municipal court on July 9, 1976.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Municipal Court Jurisdiction cases and more on FLexlaw
ANSTEAD, Judge.
This is an appeal by the state from an order discharging the appellee, Roy Lee Thaddies, under the speedy trial rule.
Thaddies was arrested on May 28, 1976, for assault and battery in violation of a municipal ordinance of the City of Delray Beach. He was then released on bond and trial was scheduled in municipal court for July 9, 1976.
On June 15, 1976, Thaddies was arrested and incarcerated in the Palm Beach County jail on unrelated charges. He did not appear for his municipal court trial and was incarcerated through October 6, 1976. On December 20, 1976, the municipal court charge was sent to the state attorney’s office for review in preparation for the case’s transfer to the state courts because of the imminent abolition of the municipal court. No further action was taken to prosecute the municipal ordinance violation. However, on March 8, 1977, Thaddies was charged with aggravated battery for the same conduct that resulted in his arrest of May 28, 1976. He was arrested on March 16,1977. On May 17, 1977, Thaddies filed a motion for discharge, alleging that under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191 he should have been tried within 180 days of May 28, 1976. This motion was granted on July 6, 1977, in an order which found that Thaddies was continuously available for trial from May 28, 1976, until May 17, 1977.
This court lyis held that the speedy trial rule, Rule 3.191, does not apply to proceedings in municipal courts. State ex rel Savage v. Kaplan, 297 So. 2d 868 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). Accordingly, Thaddies had no rights under the rule on the charges filed against him in municipal court. It is true that in State v. Hendricks, 309 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), we held that a defendant waived his speedy trial rights under Rule 3.191 when he requested a transfer of pending traffic charges from municipal court to state court. But in Hendricks, Rule 6.13 of the Rules for Traffic Court specifically provided that Rule 3.191 would be applicable to traffic cases. No such rule is involved here.
In anticipation of the abolishment of municipal courts under Article V of the Florida Constitution, the Supreme Court enacted Transition Rule 221 which provides:
In prosecution of municipal ordinances violations the time under the speedy trial rule shall begin to run on January 3, 1977, or when actual custody begins, whichever is later. Under this rule the earliest that the speedy trial time would start running on municipal charges transferred to the state court would be January 3, 1977, and not May 28, 1976.
However, Thaddies was not prosecuted in state court on the municipal ordinance violation. Instead, an information charging aggravated battery was filed. That charge was based on the same criminal episode that gave rise to the municipal ordinance violation. Rule 3.191(a)(1), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, provides:
The time periods established by this section shall commence when such person is taken into custody as a result of the conduct or criminal episode giving rise to the crime charged.
In similar circumstances this court has held that although earlier charges arising from the same incident are dropped, speedy trial time on charges later filed, but based on the same incident, is still measured from the date of arrest on the earlier charges. Clark v. State, 318 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). In Clark the defendant was still denied discharge because he was shown to have waived his speedy trial rights in the earlier proceedings. No such showing has been made here. In fact, the state has not challenged the trial court’s finding that Thad-dies was continuously available for trial between May of 1976 and May of 1977.
The First District, in a case on different facts, has ruled that speedy trial time does not commence running upon an arrest in which no charge is filed. Snead v. State, 346 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976). While we express no view on the Snead holding, we note that here a charge was filed upon Thaddies’ initial arrest on May 28, 1976. In effect, as in Clark, supra, that charge was eventually dropped when the state decided not to prosecute Thaddies for the municipal offense of assault and battery.
Accordingly, this court’s opinion of May 31, 1978, is hereby withdrawn and the order of discharge is affirmed.
DOWNEY, C. J., and LETTS, J., concur. . In re Abolition of Municipal Courts Transition Rule 22, 339 So. 2d 1119 (Fla.1976).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Clifton, 905 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)…ion filed by the state. See Reed v. State, 649 So. 2d 227 (Fla.1995); State v. Hanna, 858 So. 2d 1248 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003); Walker v. State, 390 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Robinson v. Lasher, 368 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979); State v. Thaddies, 364 So. 2d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Deloach v. State, 338 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Clark v. State, 318 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); see also Burk v. Washington, 713 So. 2d 988 (Fla.1998); Gibson. Therefore, if an amended information is filed after the s…
-
Robinson v. The Honorable Humes T. Lasher, 368 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979)…discharge. That request was granted and the respondent entered an order thereafter simply denying petitioner’s motion for discharge. The respondent has not shown cause why the petition should not be granted. In the recent case of State v. Thaddies, 364 So. 2d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), this court noted: In similar circumstances this court has held that although earlier charges arising from the same incident are dropped, speedy trial time on charges later filed, but based on the same incident, is still measure…
-
Bulgin v. State, 912 So. 2d 307 (Fla. 2005)…rst filed.”). In Weed, in an opinion by Justice Adkins, this Court summarized some of the case law in which the courts had concluded that the State’s unilateral actions could not delay the running of time for speedy trial: In [State v.] Thaddies, [364 So. 2d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978) ] the court held that when a charge is dropped and another is filed based on the same incident, the date of the arrest is the relevant date for speedy trial purposes. In [State ex rel. Smith v.] Nesbitt, [355 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 3d…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Clark v. State, 318 So. 2d 513 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- Snead v. State, 346 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- State v. Hendricks, 309 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- In re Abolition OF Mun. Courts Transition Rule 22, 339 So. 2d 1119 (Fla. 1976)
- State of Fla. ex rel. Richard Savage v. Honorable Stanton S. Kaplan, 297 So. 2d 868 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974)