Robert Dudley v. Commonwealth, Kentucky Court of Appeals, not to be published
(12/15/2017):
Mr.
Dudley was arrested on September 9, 2004, and indicted in December 2004.
However, he was not tried until 2014. In 2016, the Court of Appeals remanded
for the trial court to hold a hearing and make findings as to whether Mr.
Dudley’s right to a speedy trial had been violated. The trial court found Mr.
Dudley’s right to a speedy trial had not been violated. Specifically, the court
found that although a nearly 10-year delay between arrest and trial was
presumptively prejudicial, Mr. Dudley was responsible for the delay because he
had not returned to Kentucky to answer to his charges.
A panel of the Court of Appeals disagreed.
The panel cited the following facts showing that the delay was caused not by
Mr. Dudley, but by government negligence: 1) Circuit Court personnel were aware
that Dudley was not present at his arraignment in December 2004 because he was
in custody in Ohio; 2) neither Dudley or his then-attorney was made aware that
he had been indicted; 3) while a bench warrant was issued on December 20, 2004,
that warrant was not served on Dudley until 2014; and 4) even though the
government was aware that Dudley was in custody in Ohio, neither a detainer nor
a holder was filed until 2012. When Dudley was informed about the holder in
2012 or early 2013, he immediately filed an IAD request to be returned to
Kentucky.
Mr.
Dudley testified at the 2016 hearing that a Covington police officer involved
in his arrest testified at his 2005 Ohio parole revocation hearing. However,
the officer did not inform the Ohio court or Dudley that Dudley had a pending
Kenton County indictment or pending warrant for his arrest. The court did not
cite this in its reasoning.
Thus, the panel found, Mr. Dudley’s Sixth
Amendment right to a speedy trial was violated. The panel remanded with an
order for his indictment to be dismissed.
Matt
Ryan, formerly of the Covington Office, was counsel for Mr. Dudley. Julia K.
Pearson of Appeals represented Mr. Dudley on appeal.
