PETER CARTER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1987-05-07
No. 86-1521
DAUKSCH and COBB, JJ., concur.
509 So. 2d 1126 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1987) Negative Treatment
Cited by 16 cases

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.

Synopsis

Carter appeals his conviction for battery upon a law enforcement officer, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for discharge under Florida's speedy trial rule. The appellate court affirms, holding that Carter's demand for speedy trial was invalid because he was not prepared for trial when he filed it pro se.


Holding

Carter's demand for speedy trial was invalid because he was not prepared for trial when he filed it. Although a demand for speedy trial may be filed after the information is filed regardless of custody status, a defendant's filing of such a demand constitutes a representation that he is prepared or will be prepared for trial within five days. Carter's subsequent actions—the appointment of counsel and immediate filing of a discovery request—demonstrated he was not prepared when he filed his pro se demand.


Headnotes

[1] A demand for speedy trial under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(2) may be made at any time after an information is filed, and the 60-day period begins to run…

[2] A defendant's demand for speedy trial is invalid if the defendant is not prepared for trial at the time the demand is filed, as evidenced by subsequent requests for disco…

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Key Quotes

“A demand for speedy trial is a pleading by the accused that he is available for trial, has diligently investigated his case and that he is prepared or will be prepared for trial within five days.”

Establishes that a speedy trial demand is not merely a procedural filing but a representation of preparedness for trial

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Facts & Procedural History

On April 18, 1985, Carter, an incarcerated inmate at Brevard Correctional Institution, struck two prison guards during an altercation. He was charged …

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Opinion of the Court
ORPINGER, Judge.

ORPINGER, Judge.

Carter appeals a judgment of conviction for one count of battery upon a law enforcement officer and one count of battery, contending primarily that the trial court erred in denying his motion for discharge under the speedy trial rule, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure, 3.191. We affirm.

On April 18, 1985, while appellant was incarcerated at Brevard Correctional Institution for an unrelated conviction, he was involved in an altercation with another inmate, and when the prison guards attempted to break up the fight, appellant allegedly struck one of them. Later, when the guards went to appellant’s cell to place him in confinement, he allegedly struck another guard. As a result, appellant was charged by an information filed in Brevard County on June 6, 1985 with two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer. A capias for appellant’s arrest was issued on June 7, 1985, but was not served at that time. The day after the incident, appellant was transferred to another prison.

On July 11, 1985, the appellant filed a pro se demand for a speedy trial pursuant to Rule 3.191, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.1 A copy of said demand was delivered by certified mail to the Brevard County State Attorney’s Office on July 12, 1985. In addition, a copy was hand delivered to the State Attorney by the Brevard County Clerk’s Office on the same date. On October 21, 1985, the appellant filed a pro se motion for discharge pursuant to Rule 3.191(i), stating that, since the State had failed to timely bring him to trial, he was entitled to discharge.

No further action was taken on the case until March 21, 1986, when the appellant was formally served with the previously issued capias. The public defender was then appointed to represent him. On April 2, 1985, appellant’s appointed counsel filed a demand for discovery. The State Attorney subsequently responded to the motion for discharge, and alleged that defendant was not entitled to discharge.

At the hearing on the motion for discharge, the State argued that defendant’s demand for speedy trial was invalid because when it was filed he had not then been arrested for the crimes with which he was now charged, and that the 180 day limit under 3.191(a)(1) began to run when the capias was served. The trial court accepted this argument and denied the motion because less than 180 days had elapsed since service of the capias. The trial proceeded and defendant was convicted on one count as charged, and on the other count on the lesser offense of simple battery.

The trial court erred in ruling that the demand for speedy trial was invalid because it was filed prior to the time defendant was arrested for this offense. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(1), speedy trial without demand, is triggered by custody, but under Rule 3.191(a)(2) a demand for speedy trial may be made at any time after the information is filed, and the 60 day limit provided by that subdivision of the rule begins to run from the date of demand, without regard for the time the defendant is taken into custody. Dickey v. McNeal, 445 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). Nevertheless, the trial court’s ruling must be affirmed if correct for any reason. Vandergriff v. Vandergriff 456 So. 2d 464 (Fla.1984).

The State contends that a valid basis for the denial of the appellant’s motion for discharge exists because under Rule 3.191(b)(1), a person who is incarcerated in a correctional institution outside the jurisdiction of a subdivision of this state and who is charged with a crime under the laws of this state, is not entitled to the benefit of this rule until that person returns or is returned to the jurisdiction of the court within which the Florida charge is pending and until written notice of this fact is filed with the court and served upon the prosecutor. The State contends that appellant’s own motion for discharge reveals that at the time of the filing of the motion, he was incarcerated in Avon Park, Florida, which is outside of the territorial jurisdiction of the 18th Judicial Circuit where the information in question was filed. This argument cannot be sustained. This subsection of the rule applies to prisoners over whom neither the State nor any county or city of the state has jurisdiction. Holmes v. Leffler, 411 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 419 So. 2d 1200 (Fla.1982). Defendant was a Florida prisoner at the time he made his demand.

Nevertheless, defendant was not entitled to discharge. A demand for speedy trial is a pleading by the accused that he is available for trial, has diligently investigated his case and that he is prepared or will be prepared for trial within five days. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191(c). A defendant cannot control the criminal docket by filing a spurious demand for speedy trial when he is not, in fact, prepared. State v. Kaufman, 421 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). The defendant here was obviously not prepared for trial when he filed his demand. As soon as he was formally arrested counsel was appointed for him, and almost immediately thereafter, his appointed counsel filed a request for discovery. These later actions clearly indicate that defendant was not prepared at the time he filed his pro se motion for speedy trial. See State ex rel. Hanks v. Goodman, 253 So. 2d 129 (Fla.1971); State v. Kaufman, supra; Dickey v. McNeal, supra. For this reason, his demand was invalid and the trial court correctly denied the motion for discharge.

We find no merit in appellant’s remaining point on appeal.

AFFIRMED.

DAUKSCH and COBB, JJ., concur. . Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(2) provides:

Speedy Trial Upon Demand. Except as otherwise provided by this Rule and subject to the limitations imposed under (b)(1) and (c), every person charged with a crime by indictment or information shall have the right to demand a trial within 60 days, by filing with the court having jurisdiction and serving upon the state attorney a Demand for Speedy Trial.

(1)No later than 5 days from the filing of a Demand for Speedy Trial, the court shall hold a calendar call, with notice to all parties, for the express purposes of announcing, in open court, receipt of the Demand and of setting the case for trial.

(2) At the calendar call the court shall set the case for trial to commence at a date no less than 5 days nor more than 45 days from the date of the calendar call.

(3) The failure of the court to hold such a calendar call on a Demand which has been properly filed and served shall not interrupt the running of any time periods under this section.

(4) In the event that the defendant shall not have been brought to trial within 50 days of the filing of the Demand, the defendant shall have the right to the appropriate remedy as set forth in section (i) below.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Salser v. State, 613 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 1993)
    …the trial court’s failure to conduct a speedy-trial hearing within the requisite time limits deprived it of jurisdiction over Salser. Ariza. In so concluding, I distinguish Dickey v. McNeal, 445 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), and Carter v. State, 509 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 5th DCA1987), because they dealt with demands for speedy trial under rule 3.191(c) and not a motion for discharge for failure to honor the time limits specified in rule 3.191(a)(1), as occurred here. Under the speedy trial rule, a demand for t…
    1 / 2
  • Brown v. State, 798 So. 2d 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
    …a person files a valid demand for speedy trial under rule 3.191(b). Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.191(a). Rule 3.191(b) does not require that a defendant be taken into custody before the time provided for in that subsection begins to run. See Carter v. State, 509 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.191(b). Rather, the time begins to run upon the filing of the demand. Id. Therefore, whether Mr. Brown had been taken into custody on the grand theft charge was irrelevant, and the reasoning of the trial court’…
  • Jones v. State, 573 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
    …d 1158 (Fla.1987). In the instant case the state clearly knew of Jones’ whereabouts. When a defendant is incarcerated within the jurisdiction of the State of Florida, the state bears the burden of producing him. Pilgrim v. Swanson; Carter v. State, 509 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987); Robbins v. State; Tirado v. Reese; Gaskins v. State, 433 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Jones’ conviction and sentence are reversed and set aside, and the case is remanded to the trial court with directions that he be discharge…

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