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State v. Manzanares5/20/1996
RANSOM, Justice.
{1} The State appealed to the Court of Appeals from the district court's dismissal of criminal proceedings against Ventura Manzanares for violation of his right to a speedy trial. The district court had concluded that because almost eleven months passed since the indictment of Manzanares, his right to a speedy trial was presumptively violated. The Court of Appeals deemed the appeal to present a significant question of law under the New Mexico Constitution, namely whether this Court's grant of an extension of time for trial beyond the six-month limit of SCRA 1986, 5-604 (Repl. Pamp. 1992) prohibits a lower court from reviewing a claim of violation of the right to a speedy trial. The Court of Appeals consequently certified the appeal to this Court pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 34-5-14(C)(1) (Repl. Pamp. 1990) and SCRA 1986, 12-606 (Repl. Pamp. 1992). We hold that the grant of an extension by this Court does not preclude a lower court's review of the right to speedy trial, and the district court's findings being supported by substantial evidence, we weigh those findings de novo, see , and we affirm the ruling of the district court.
{2} Proceedings. On August 13, 1993, Manzanares was involved in a head-on automobile collision that resulted in the death of Stacy Kern Hill. On November 8, the Rio Arriba County grand jury indicted Manzanares on charges of vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated, and driving recklessly. Manzanares was arraigned and released on December 2, 1993. The arraignment started the six-month period within which Rule 5-604 provides that trial must be commenced. The trial was set for April 11, 1994. Due to an insufficient juror pool, the April 11 trial date was vacated. On April 19, the State filed for a Rule 5-604 extension from the district court, seeking an extension to November 2, 1994. The Supreme Court has given the district court power to grant extensions of up to four months. This would have allowed the district court to grant an extension to October 2, not November 2. However, on May 23 the district court purported to grant an extension to November 2.
{3} At a hearing on April 28, the district court entered an order setting the trial for August 8. The court noted that there was an extension in the case until November 2, even though the grant of that extension was not entered of record until May 23. Manzanares objected to the August court date and requested that the trial be set for an earlier date. The trial was then scheduled for May 31. At a pretrial conference on May 13, the court suggested that the trial be set for early June, but the parties were unable to agree on a date. On May 25, two days after the order granting the November 2 extension was entered, the district court set October 3 as the date for jury trial. October 3 was one day beyond the four-month-extension period that was within the power of the district court to grant. On August 17, the State filed a petition with this Court requesting an extension. Defense counsel was apparently on vacation at this time, and the petition incorrectly stated that Manzanares had stipulated to the extension. We granted an extension to November 11. Manzanares petitioned this Court for reconsideration, and we denied the motion.
{4} On August 22, before we had granted the extension and before he was even aware that the State's petition had been submitted to us or, apparently, that the district court had entered an extension order, Manzanares moved to dismiss the indictment against him on grounds that the district court no longer had jurisdiction. A hearing was held on this motion on September 26, the date that we denied Manzanares's motion for reconsideration. The court
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