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State v. Cham6/1/2004
ts own motion, dismissed the case, reasoning that Cham's right to a speedy trial had been violated. The state now appeals the dismissal of the charges.
*124 ISSUES
I. Did the district court err in concluding that the state violated Cham's right to a speedy trial?
II. Did the district court abuse its discretion by appointing an interpreter for Cham pursuant to Minn.Stat. §§ 611.30-.34 (2002)?
ANALYSIS
I.
The state argues that Cham's right to a speedy trial was not violated because (1) the delay in this case was caused by extraordinary difficulties in obtaining an interpreter rather than by the fault of the prosecution; (2) Cham never exercised his right to a speedy trial by demanding a speedy trial; and (3) Cham was not prejudiced by the delay between his arrest and the ultimate dismissal. We agree.
All criminal defendants have a constitutional right "to a speedy and public trial." Minn. Const. Art. I, § 6; State v. Windish, 590 N.W.2d 311, 315 (Minn.1999). Minnesota courts consider four factors in determining whether a defendant's right to a speedy trial has been violated. State v. Widell, 258 N.W.2d 795, 796 (Minn.1977). These four factors include: (1) the length of the delay; (2) the reason for the delay; (3) whether and when the defendant asserted his right to a speedy trial; and (4) the prejudice to the defendant caused by the delay. Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530, 92 S.Ct. 2182, 2192, 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972); Widell, 258 N.W.2d at 796. None of the factors is "either a necessary or sufficient condition to the finding of a deprivation of the right to a speedy trial. Rather, they are related factors and must be considered together with such other circumstances as may be relevant." Windish, 590 N.W.2d at 315 (citing Barker, 407 U.S. at 533, 92 S.Ct. 2182 at 2193, 33 L.Ed.2d 101).
The district court did not rely on the Barker four-factor test in concluding that Cham's right to a speedy trial had been violated. Instead, the court reasoned that the cost of the matter had exceeded reasonable limits, that numerous attempts at obtaining an interpreter had failed, and that "based upon the inability of the Court to obtain an interpreter, the Defendant's right to a speedy trial has been denied."
Both parties cite State v. Friberg, 435 N.W.2d 509, 515 (Minn.1989), for the proposition that the decision of the district court that Cham's right to a speedy trial has been violated is reviewed using an abuse-of-discretion standard. But Friberg does not state a standard of review. See Friberg, 435 N.W.2d at 515 (concluding merely that "[c]onsidering the Barker factors in light of all the circumstances, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ruling that there was good cause for the delay and that defendants were not denied their right to a speedy trial"). Because appellate courts review constitutional questions de novo and Cham's claim raises a constitutional question, we conclude that the district court's speedy trial determination is subject to de novo review. State v. Wiegand, 645 N.W.2d 125, 129 (Minn.2002) ("We review de novo a lower court's ruling on constitutional questions."); State v. Sewell, 595 N.W.2d 207, 211 (Minn.App.1999) (We review constitutional issues de novo.), review denied (Minn. Aug. 25, 1999).
The district court erred by failing to apply the Barker test, but because we review de novo whether Cham's right to a speedy trial was violated, we will apply the Barker test to the facts in this case.
*125 1. The length of delay
We evaluate the length of delay to determine if further review of a defendant's speedy-trial claim is warranted. Barker, 407 U.S. at 530, 92 S.Ct. at 2192. We measure the length of delay from the time when the police arrest the defendant. State v. Jone
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