BILL SNEAD A/K/A BILL SNEED, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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Bill Snead petitioned for a writ of prohibition to prevent trial on murder charges, claiming the speedy trial rule barred prosecution because the time window had expired. The court held that his March 15, 1975 investigatory arrest and release, made without filing a murder charge, did not commence the speedy trial period, which instead began upon his September 16, 1975 indictment.
The court held that an arrest without a charge being filed does not commence the speedy trial period under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191. The speedy trial period for the murder charge began on September 16, 1975, when Snead was indicted, not on March 15 when he was taken into custody for investigation.
[1] An arrest for investigation without a formal charge being filed does not commence the speedy trial period for a subsequent charge.
[2] The speedy trial period begins to run when a formal charge is filed or when a defendant is taken into custody to answer a specific charge.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“an arrest in which no charge is made does not commence the period in which a speedy trial is required on a later charge by Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191”
This statement articulates the core holding regarding when the speedy trial period begins, establishing that the period does not commence at investigatory arrests lacking a formal charge.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn March 14, 1975, Louise Hanna and Linda Kimbro were assaulted and robbed near Spuds Bar; Linda later died. Deputy Sheriff Lightsey picked up Snead o…
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McCORD, Judge.
Petitioner seeks a writ of common law certiorari to review an evidentiary ruling of the trial court. We decline issuance of the writ to review such action at this time.
Petitioner also seeks a writ of prohibition contending that the trial court does not have jurisdiction to try the case because the time within which it could be tried has run under the speedy trial rule (Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191).
On the night of March 14, 1975, Louise Hanna and Linda Kimbro were assaulted and robbed as they left Spuds Bar. Linda later died of her injuries. At the hearing on appellant’s motion for discharge under the speedy trial rule, Deputy Sheriff Light-sey testified that on the day after the assault upon the women, he obtained a signed complaint from the owner of Spuds Bar against appellant for trespassing. (On the night of March 14, appellant had been in the bar and had been ordered to leave. He had previously been warned to stay out.) The deputy further testified that upon obtaining the complaint, he and three other officers picked up appellant at his work, read him his rights, and advised him that they wanted to take him to the jail to discuss the robbery and assault cases; that they did not mention the trespassing charge and they did not intend to arrest him on that charge; that after twenty minutes of questioning, Lightsey told appellant he was going to book him for trespass after warning; that he had appellant fingerprinted and photographed, but these were for use in the robbery and assault cases. After appellant was locked up, Lightsey telephoned the state attorney and was advised to drop the trespass charge. He then took appellant home and released him. The next day he had appellant sign a waiver of rights form which stated that he, as a suspect, was advised by the arresting officer that the charge against him was armed robbery and assault to murder Linda Kimbro and Louise Hanna.
In spite of the recitation in the waiver, there was no charge growing out of the robbery and homicide then pending against appellant and none was filed until he was indicted on September 16, 1975, for the murder of Linda Kimbro. Subsequent to his being picked up on March 15 and released on the same day, appellant was free until he was placed in jail on March 23 on an unrelated charge. Appellant contended in the trial court and contends here that the time for his trial under the speedy trial rule began to run on March 15 — the date he was picked up and then released; that he has been continuously available for trial since that time. If appellant is correct in this conclusion, the time within which he may be tried has run under the rule and he must be released. We, however, do not so interpret the rule. Had a murder charge been filed against appellant on March 15 or subsequent thereto while he was being held to answer for that charge, he would be correct in his contention. Here, however, appellant was taken to the jail and held for a short period for investigation with no charge for the murder being on file. He was then released without a charge being filed. His subsequent arrest on March 26 was on an unrelated charge upon which he was held until an indictment was returned against him on September 16 for murder. Under these circumstances, the time within which he could be tried under the speedy trial rule began to run on September 16,^ 1975.
Our decision should not be regarded as implicitly endorsing investigatory arrests but only as holding that an arrest in which no charge is made does not commence the period in which a speedy trial is required on a later charge by Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191. We are here concerned with whether appellant was charged with murder on March 15, 1975, by his de facto arrest and detention on that day. We are not concerned with the legality of the arrest, whether “for investigation” or on some charge other than murder, or with the consequences of the detention in the context of other questions, such as the admissibility of evidence taken from appellant in detention. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963).
Certiorari and prohibition denied.
BOYER, C. J., and SMITH, J., concur.
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State of Fla. ex rel. Wayne P. Dean, Jr. v. The Honorable John W. Booth, 349 So. 2d 806 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977)…e a deleterious effect because the police might then feel compelled to make an arrest on less than sufficient evidence in order to activate the wheels of the prosecuto-rial process before the time runs out. Our case is somewhat like Snead v. State, 346 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976), in which the court said: “. . . [A]ppellant was taken to the jail and held for a short period for investigation with no charge for the murder being on file. He was then released without a charge being filed. His subsequent arre…
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State v. Robbins, 359 So. 2d 39 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)…not been placed “in custody” within the meaning of Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191(a)(1), although he has been placed “in custody” for purposes of the Miranda requirements. State ex rel. Dean v. Booth, 349 So. 2d 806 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). See also Snead v. State, 346 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976), cert. denied, 348 So. 2d 953 (Fla.1977). Although respondent was temporarily detained on the night of the offense, he was not formally arrested or incarcerated. Moreover, it appears the police were merely attempting to establis…
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State v. Thaddies, 364 So. 2d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)…-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 p…
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- Wong SUN v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (U.S. 1963)