JAMES GUY FERRIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant Ferris appealed his armed robbery conviction, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to discharge based on speedy trial grounds. The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction, holding that the trial court's extension of the speedy trial period for exceptional circumstances removed the case from the operation of Florida's speedy trial rule and that the trial was held within a reasonable time under constitutional standards.
The court held that the extension granted for exceptional circumstances removed the case from the operation of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191, and that appellant was brought to trial within a reasonable period of time under constitutional speedy trial standards.
[1] A trial court's finding of exceptional circumstances can justify an extension of the speedy trial period.
[2] An extension of the speedy trial period due to exceptional circumstances may remove a case from the operation of Rule 3.191, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
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“We hold that the extension granted by the trial court removed the case from the operation of Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191, see State ex rel. Lee v. Harper, 372 So.2d 1012 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979), and see generally Dedmon v. State, 400 So.2d 1042 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), and that appellant was brought to trial within a reasonable period of time under constitutional speedy trial standards.”
The court's holding regarding the effect of an extension for exceptional circumstances on the speedy trial rule.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFerris was arrested on May 8, 1981, the day the alleged armed robbery occurred. Trial was initially set for September 29, 1981, but the State moved fo…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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JOANOS, Judge.
This is an appeal from a judgment and sentence for armed robbery. We find no reversible error as to any of the issues raised, however, the alleged error in denying appellant’s motion for discharge on speedy trial grounds should and will be discussed.
The facts relevant to the speedy trial issue follow. Appellant was arrested on the day the alleged crime occurred, May 8,1981. Trial was set for September 29, 1981, however, on September 28, 1981, the State moved for a continuance based on exceptional circumstances for two reasons: (1) an important witness had been injured in an accident and (2) appellant’s brother and co-defendant had filed a motion for suggestion of insanity which could not be disposed of by the trial date. The trial judge made a finding of exceptional circumstances and extended the speedy trial period. Orally, the judge stated: “This will be set for October 30th; that’ll be your next plea day in this case.” A written order was subsequently entered which included a finding extending the speedy trial period “until the next trial week .... ” The record contains no transcript of the hearing at which a new trial date was set, but the parties represent that on October 30,1981, trial was reset for February 1, 1982.
Appellant filed a demand for speedy trial on December 2,1981. On January 27,1982, and on January 29, 1982, appellant filed motions for discharge alleging that the time had been extended until “the next trial week” and that the next trial weeks after September 28, 1981, were the weeks of November 23, 1981, and December 14, 1981. At the hearing on the first motion, held on January 28, 1982, it became clear that the written order extending the time inaccurately recorded the judge’s ruling, which actually had been to extend the time in order to reset the trial on the next plea day.
Appellant argues that regardless of whether the court extended the speedy trial time to the next trial week or to the next plea day, the time was extended to a date certain, either October 30, 1981, or November 23,1981, and he was not brought to trial by either of those dates and was therefore entitled to a discharge. Alternately, appellant argues that if the trial court’s ruling had the effect of extending the speedy trial period for an indefinite time, he was not brought to trial within a reasonable period of time and was entitled to be discharged. The State argues that the extension took the case out of the operation of Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.191, and that by constitutional speedy trial standards, appellant was brought to ferial within a reasonable period of time.
We hold that the extension granted by the trial court removed the case from the operation of Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191, see State ex rel. Lee v. Harper, 372 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979),1 and see generally Dedmon v. State, 400 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), and that appellant was brought to trial within a reasonable period of time under constitutional speedy trial standards. See for example Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972), and particularly the analysis of criteria for determining reasonableness set forth in Howell v. State, 418 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982).
AFFIRMED.
SHIVERS and WENTWORTH, JJ., concur. . The holding in Harper specifically took into account that portion of Rule 3.191(f) which provided that under exceptional circumstances “the Court may set a new trial date within a reasonable time.” That language has been removed from the rule, however, the comments to the current rule state that this language was eliminated as simply unnecessary.
The Fifth District has expressed disagreement with Harper as to the effect on Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.191 of an extension for exceptional circumstances for a specific period of time in Neuman v. State, - So. 2d - (Fla. 5th DCA 1983) [8 FLW 217],
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Ferris v. State, 475 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 1985)…PER CURIAM. We have for review a decision of a district court of appeal, Ferris v. State, 428 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), which expressly and directly conflicts with Neuman v. State, 431 So. 2d 168 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), on the question of whether an extension of a speedy trial period granted for exceptional circumstances must be for a specified peri…
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King v. State, 468 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)…re, we must compute the delay from the filing of the information, Vela, until the trial on 22 March 1984, a time lapse of seven and one-half months. A delay of nine months has been held to meet constitutional speedy trial standards. Ferris v. State, 428 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Therefore, no presumptive prejudice exists. However, the Howell court indicated that a showing of actual prejudice might also trigger the full Barker analysis. Howell at 1171, n. 5. As we have already discussed, no such prejudi…
Authorities Cited
- Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (U.S. 1972)
- Howell v. State, 418 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- Dedmon v. State, 400 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- Keenan v. State, 372 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)