CORRIGAN, J.
This case requires us to clarify the correct interpretation of the statutory "180-day rule" established by MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133. The object of this rule is to dispose of new criminal charges against inmates in Michigan correctional facilities; the rule requires dismissal of the case if the prosecutor fails to commence action on charges pending against an inmate within 180 days after the Department of Corrections (DOC) delivers notice of the inmate's imprisonment. We reaffirm that the rule does not require that a trial be commenced or completed within 180 days of the date notice was delivered. Rather, as this Court has held for more than 50 years, it is sufficient that the prosecutor "proceed promptly" and "move [] the case to the point of readiness for trial" within the 180-day period. People v. Hendershot, 357 Mich. 300, 304, 98 N.W.2d 568 (1959). Significantly, although a prosecutor must proceed promptly and take action in good faith in order to satisfy the rule, there is no good-faith exception to the rule. Instead, as originally articulated in Hendershot, good faith is an implicit component of proper action by the prosecutor, who may not satisfy the rule simply by taking preliminary steps toward trial but then delaying inexcusably. We further clarify that the statutory 180-day period is, by the plain terms of the statute, a fixed period of consecutive days beginning
The statutory 180-day rule was satisfied here because the prosecutor commenced action well within 180 days after receiving notice from the DOC, "proceed[ed] promptly and with dispatch thereafter toward readying the case for trial," and "[stood] ready for trial within the 180-day period....
Proceedings in this case began in September 2005 when the Saginaw County Prosecuting Attorney charged defendant, Donald Allen Lown, with second-degree home invasion.
Defendant was arraigned in the Saginaw Circuit Court on November 7, 2005. A joint trial with his codefendant was scheduled to begin on February 7, 2006. The trial was postponed after the court granted a motion for separate trials filed by defendant's first appointed attorney, Keith Skutt. Defendant subsequently offered to plead guilty. A plea hearing was scheduled for January 30, 2006. By the time of the hearing, however, defendant had changed his mind about the plea and requested a new attorney. Skutt moved to withdraw from representation and stated that defendant was "willing to waive his right to trial within 180 days" to await new counsel. The court denied the motion to withdraw. Without objection by either party, the trial was ultimately rescheduled for May 9, 2006, in part because of docket congestion.
On April 20, 2006, defendant moved for release on bond—or, in the alternative, for dismissal of the home-invasion charge—because he had been jailed for
The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss under the statutory 180-day rule in an order entered on June 16, 2006, citing People v. Chavies, 234 Mich.App. 274, 593 N.W.2d 655 (1999).
Around this time the DOC sent certified written notice of defendant's incarceration to the prosecutor as required by MCL 780.131. The prosecutor received the notification no later than July 22, 2006.
On the next scheduled trial date of September 19, 2006, defendant rejected a plea agreement offered by the prosecutor. Lynch moved for an adjournment to allow more time for trial preparation. Defendant stated on the record that he had no objection to the adjournment. The trial was rescheduled for November 28, 2006.
The trial was next scheduled to begin on April 24, 2007. At a hearing on that date the court denied defendant's motion to dismiss Lynch and asserted that jury selection would begin later that week. Off the record, the trial was adjourned yet again to July 11, 2007, apparently as a result of docket congestion. On July 11, 2007, the case was adjourned to September 5, 2007. The court explained simply: "We've taken the time here to determine when this case is going to be reset and everybody is going to be available."
The case was pushed to one day later, September 6, 2007, at which time the parties appeared and the prosecution stated that it was ready to proceed. But, in the meantime, Lynch had moved to withdraw as counsel, noting defendant's "antagonistic, demeaning, denigrating attitude" towards him and stating that defendant had filed an unwarranted grievance against him with the Attorney Grievance Commission. The court granted the motion. James Tiderington was appointed as replacement counsel for the defense on September 12, 2007.
The trial was rescheduled for December 4, 2007. On that date, the court granted Tiderington's motion for an adjournment in order to file a motion to dismiss under the statutory 180-day rule. In a December 7, 2007, motion, Tiderington observed that the Court of Appeals' opinion in Chavies—on which the trial court relied in its June 16, 2006, order denying defendant's first motion to dismiss—had been overruled by the June 14, 2006, Williams decision. The court ordered briefing and held two hearings to consider the issue.
In an April 15, 2008, opinion and order, the court denied defendant's motion. It noted that, although 180 days had passed since the prosecutor received notice from the DOC, the "good faith exception" to the 180-day rule precluded dismissal.
The Court of Appeals
Nonetheless, the Court concluded that dismissal was not required because the prosecution was "ready and willing to go to trial at least as early as September 19, 2006."
Defendant petitioned this Court to review the Court of Appeals' judgment. We granted his application for leave to appeal and directed the parties to include among the issues to be briefed
This case requires us to consider the meaning and proper application of MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133. We review de novo questions of statutory interpretation.
The relevant subsection of MCL 780.131 provides:
Thus, MCL 780.131(1) states the general rule requiring that an inmate housed in a state correctional facility who has criminal charges pending against him "shall be brought to trial within 180 days after" the DOC delivers written notice of information concerning the inmate's imprisonment to the prosecuting attorney. The 180-day period begins running on the day after the prosecutor receives the required notice.
MCL 780.133 governs failure to comply with the 180-day rule:
This provision specifies that if "action is not commenced on the matter" within the
Accordingly,
On the other hand, if the prosecutor takes no action or delays inexcusably after taking preliminary steps, the rule may be violated:
Further, the court itself appears to have been ready to proceed as of September 19, 2006, when defendant moved to adjourn. Later adjournments were attributable both to the defense and to docket congestion. The Court of Appeals has observed that the "burden imposed" by MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 "rests as much upon the court as upon the prosecutor" because "the scheduling of cases is not controlled by the prosecutor."
For these reasons, the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss the case under the 180-day rule, and the Court of Appeals properly affirmed that denial. Action was commenced "well within the period," and the prosecution "proceed[ed]
Moreover, this analysis alone was a sufficient basis for the lower courts' conclusions that the 180-day rule was satisfied. It was unnecessary for the Court of Appeals to calculate the number of days of delay attributable to the prosecutor, the court, or defendant beginning on July 23, 2006. The relevant statutory provisions do not describe the 180-day period as 180 total days of delay attributable to the prosecutor or court, after which the court may lose jurisdiction of the case. Rather, they plainly describe the period as a single term consisting of 180 consecutive days beginning at the time the DOC delivers the required written notice to the prosecutor. MCL 780.131(1) states that the inmate "shall be brought to trial within 180 days after" the DOC delivers notice. (Emphasis added.) MCL 780.133 similarly deprives the court of jurisdiction if "action is not commenced" "within the time limitation set forth in [MCL 780.131]." (Emphasis added.)
The practice of allocating periods of pretrial delay between the parties originates not from Michigan's statutory 180-day rule, but from jurisprudence governing the constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Some cases have employed these elements of the speedy trial test when reviewing motions for dismissal under the statutory 180-day rule. For example, in Crawford, 232 Mich.App. at 613, 591 N.W.2d 669, and England, 177 Mich.App. at 285, 441 N.W.2d 95—on which the Court of Appeals here relied—the Court applied the statutory 180-day rule in part by calculating how many days of delay were "chargeable" to the prosecutor after the prosecutor received the required DOC notice. But neither case offered a full explanation of why it imported the speedy trial test into this context. Rather, each case primarily cited portions of other cases that addressed speedy trial challenges.
We clarify that the 180-day period addressed in MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 consists of the consecutive 180 days beginning on the day after the prosecutor receives the required notice from the DOC. The relevant threshold question is, therefore, not whether 180 days of delay since that date may be attributable to the prosecutor, but whether action was commenced within this 180-day period as described earlier, in accordance with Hendershot. If so, the rule has been satisfied unless the prosecutor's initial steps were "followed by inexcusable delay beyond the 180-day period and an evident intent not to bring the case to trial promptly...."
We further clarify that, contrary to the trial court's assertion, the statutory 180-day rule has no judicially created "good-faith exception." The trial court observed that a so-called good-faith exception to the rule was created by the references to a prosecutor's good-faith action in Hendershot. But Hendershot should be read consistently with the plain language of MCL 780.133—not to create an exception that has no basis in the statutory text.
The text of MCL 780.133 clearly contemplates that a court may retain jurisdiction although 180 days have passed after the DOC sent the required notice as long as "action" was "commenced on the matter"
For example, we note People v. Walker, 276 Mich.App. 528, 741 N.W.2d 843 (2007), vacated in part 480 Mich. 1059, 743 N.W.2d 912 (2008), which the trial court in this case discussed. Walker cited Hendershot as creating a good-faith exception to the 180-day rule.
Accordingly, as the Court of Appeals correctly held in Davis, Williams did not affect the general rule from Hendershot that dismissal is required under MCL 780.133 only if the prosecutor failed to take good-faith steps to commence action within 180 days of receiving notice from the DOC of an offender's imprisonment. But, as we have explained, good-faith action by the prosecutor does not create an extrastatutory exception to the 180-day rule. Rather, a good-faith intent to ready the case for trial describes an implicit component of the steps that must be taken within the 180-day period in order for the rule to be satisfied although a trial is not completed within that period. Good-faith action is invoked specifically in contrast to action that, although it takes place within 180 days, consists merely of preliminary steps that are later followed by inexcusable delay and the lack of a genuine intent to proceed to trial. Thus, the good-faith aspect of the 180-day rule protects defendants by making clear that merely any action by the prosecutor, without regard to whether the action is genuinely designed to promptly bring the case to trial, does not automatically satisfy the rule's intent as expressed by its plain terms; good-faith action does not create an exception benefitting the prosecutor.
Finally, we address defendant's argument that MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 create a strict jurisdictional rule requiring dismissal with prejudice 180 days after delivery of the DOC's notice unless a defendant requires a delay to vindicate his constitutional rights. This argument fails, first and foremost, because it depends on defendant's claim that the 180-day rule is violated if a trial does not take place within the 180-day period. As we have explained, such a conclusion runs directly contrary to the plain language of MCL 780.133, which deprives the court of jurisdiction only if "action is not commenced" within the 180-day period; the jurisdictional aspect of the rule does not hinge on whether the trial has begun or has been completed within the period. Whether action has been commenced remains
Second, defendant's argument implicitly presumes that MCL 780.133 deprives the court of subject matter jurisdiction when the 180-day rule is violated. Subject matter jurisdiction "concerns a court's `abstract power to try a case of the kind or character of the one pending' and is not dependent on the particular facts of the case."
Our conclusion that a violation of the statutory 180-day rule does not deprive the court of subject matter jurisdiction is significant because it further defeats defendant's argument that if the 180-day period is exceeded for a reason other than vindication of a defendant's constitutional rights, the court is forever deprived of the power to hear the case. To the contrary, because subject matter jurisdiction is not at issue, a defendant may forfeit the rule requiring commencement of action within 180 days by requesting or consenting to delays, as defendant did many times throughout the proceedings in this case. Our conclusion also reinforces the text of the statute, which clearly conveys that the 180-day period does not describe an automatic cut-off point when the court loses jurisdiction, no matter what events have transpired in the meantime, unless the defendant sought a continuance to protect a constitutional right. Rather, as long as good-faith action was commenced within the 180-day period in order to ready the case for trial, the trial court is not deprived of jurisdiction although the trial itself is not commenced or completed within the period.
The dissent premises its discussion on its conclusion that, "[e]ven though the [180-day] rule does not expressly require a day count and assignment of responsibility for periods of delay, both requirements are implicit in the statute." We reject this premise because it is based not on the explicit text of the statute, but on judicially created "implicit" requirements. The statutory text could not be clearer. The relevant time limit—"within 180 days after" the DOC delivers the required notice, MCL 780.131(1)—describes a single term of 180 consecutive days following the DOC's delivery of the notice. It does not describe a judicially calculated total period of delay attributable to the prosecutor or the court.
Further, defendants are not prejudiced by this statute, as the dissent fears. A defendant may agree to delay proceedings in the case at will; he is not prejudiced by the fixed 180-day period. Rather, the statute places the burden on the state; only the prosecutor is bound and must commence action—and remain ready to proceed to trial—within 180 days. Although a defendant may consent to delay the proceedings, the prosecutor must remain ready to proceed to trial—and to avoid inexcusable delay—when the agreed upon period of delay expires.
The dissent's fears of prejudice to the defendant arise, moreover, primarily from its incorrect assertion that the trial must begin or be completed within 180 days. But a defendant is only prejudiced by the inability to raise pretrial constitutional issues or prepare for trial if the prosecutor is forced to commence trial—as opposed merely to commencing action—within 180 days, as the dissent suggests. The dissent wrongly focuses on MCL 780.131(1), which refers to a defendant's being "brought to trial." But MCL 780.133, not MCL 780.131, governs when jurisdiction is lost as the result of a violation of the 180-day rule. We underscore the Legislature's choice of a broader word in MCL 780.133, which does not refer to the commencement of "trial," but refers to commencement of "action" on the matter.
Finally, for these reasons, our historical precedent in Hendershot is consistent with the plain statutory language. Accordingly, Hendershot was not wrongly decided and should not be overruled.
The statutory 180-day rule, MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133, may be invoked to require dismissal of a criminal case only if action is not commenced in the case within 180 days after the prosecutor receives the required notice from the DOC. The rule does not deprive the court of its power to hear the case simply because the trial has not commenced within that period, let alone because the trial has not been completed. Rather, as this Court has held for more than 50 years, the rule requires the prosecutor to proceed promptly within 180 days to move the case to the point of readiness for trial. As long as the prosecutor does so, dismissal is not required under MCL 780.133 unless, after some preliminary step in the case occurs, that initial action is followed by inexcusable delay beyond the 180-day period and an evident intent not to bring the case to trial
In this case, the prosecution commenced action to bring defendant to trial well within the 180-day period, was actually ready to proceed to trial during this period, and remained ready to proceed with the trial at all times thereafter. Further, the record reflects no evidence of subsequent inexcusable delays under the facts of this case. Indeed, defendant requested or consented to most of the adjournments. Therefore, the trial court was not deprived of personal jurisdiction for the purpose of adjudicating the home invasion charge against defendant.
Accordingly, we affirm the result reached by both lower courts and the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
ROBERT P. YOUNG, JR., C.J., STEPHEN J. MARKMAN, and DIANE M. HATHAWAY, JJ., concur.
MARY BETH KELLY, J., not participating.
MARILYN J. KELLY, J., (dissenting).
I would reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals. I believe that compliance with the 180-day rule established by MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 requires more than a prosecuting attorney's good-faith effort to promptly bring an inmate to trial. I would hold that the statutory rule requires an inmate actually to be brought to trial within 180 days.
I agree with the majority that the 180-day rule is jurisdictional. This is clear from the language of MCL 780.133, which states:
Thus, if "action is not commenced" within 180 days, as set forth in MCL 780.131, the court is divested of jurisdiction.
I further agree with the majority that MCL 780.133 presents an issue of personal, rather than subject-matter, jurisdiction. Therefore, I concur in the majority's adoption of Justice BOYLE'S analysis on this issue.
Therefore, interpreting the 180-day rule as referring to subject-matter jurisdiction would potentially render the entire statute unconstitutional. And it is a fundamental rule of statutory interpretation that if two constructions are possible, one constitutional and one unconstitutional, the constitutional construction should be adopted.
I agree with the majority that the 180-day rule divests a court of personal jurisdiction over a defendant if "action is not commenced" within 180 days of the required notice from the Department of Corrections (DOC). My disagreement regards three matters: (a) the calculation of the 180 days, (b) the type of "action" that must be commenced within the statutory time limit, and (c) the precedential effect of People v. Hendershot.
The majority claims that, in calculating the 180-day period, identifying the source of periods of pretrial delay is not necessary. It believes that such a practice was imported improperly into 180-day-rule jurisprudence from caselaw dealing with the constitutional right to a speedy trial. I disagree the importation was improper. It is true that, when determining whether a defendant's constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated, the "reason for the delay" is one of the factors taken into account.
MCL 780.131 specifically states the number of days that may pass between the time the DOC certifies notice and the time the defendant must be brought to trial. The specification in the statute of a set number of days implies that a day count is necessary. Furthermore, one must ascribe responsibility for the periods of delay in order to determine which the defendant caused, and thus waived.
A violation of the 180-day rule divests a court of personal jurisdiction. Significantly, only a defendant may waive application of the rule. A prosecutor's good-faith efforts to prepare for trial or even a trial court's order to adjourn trial may not
When a defendant requests an adjournment, the delay occasioned by the adjournment should be attributed to the defendant and not considered when calculating the 180 days that the statute allots. This is because, in requesting an adjournment, a defendant is effectively waiving that period of delay. But by requesting or consenting to a delay, a defendant is not forfeiting the rule requiring action to commence within 180 days; he or she is not forever relinquishing the totality of his or her rights under the 180-day rule. This would have the undesirable effect of permitting a court or prosecutor to delay for an indefinite amount of time after a defendant knowingly requests an adjournment. Rather, by requesting or consenting to a certain period of delay, a defendant is waiving that specific period of delay. Effectively, a defendant may toll the 180-day period.
Hence, any delay that the court grants and that the defendant consents to must not contribute to the 180 days allotted. This interpretation is necessary because defendants cannot be permitted to deliberately create periods of delay and then use those periods to argue that they were denied their statutory right to a speedy trial. On the other hand, a delay attributable to a person or entity other than a defendant cannot be excepted from the 180-day period. Hence, when a trial is unreasonably delayed for reasons outside a defendant's control, the length of the delay should be counted when calculating whether 180 days have elapsed. Examples are adjournments requested by the prosecution and those caused by a judge because of docket congestion. If 180 days of delay not attributable to a defendant transpire and "action" has not yet commenced, the court is divested of jurisdiction to try the charge.
In 1959, in the case of People v. Hendershot, this Court held that MCL 780.131 allowed the 180-day period to be exceeded if "apparent good-faith action is taken well within the period and the people proceed promptly and with dispatch thereafter toward readying the case for trial...."
The relevant portion of MCL 780.131 provides:
Thus, the statute requires that an inmate with pending criminal charges "shall be brought to trial within 180 days after" the DOC delivers written notice of the inmate's imprisonment to the prosecuting attorney. The use of the word "shall" indicates a mandatory and imperative directive.
The penalty for failure to comply with this statutory mandate is set forth in MCL 780.133:
Thus, if "action is not commenced" within 180 days, as set forth in MCL 780.131, the court is divested of jurisdiction.
Contrary to the majority's approach, I question the need to go beyond the words in the statute and the need to consult a dictionary to discern the Legislature's intended meaning of commencing "action." MCL 780.131 mandates that the inmate be "brought to trial" within 180 days, and MCL 780.133 divests the court of jurisdiction over the untried warrant, indictment, information, or complaint when "action is not commenced on the matter" within 180 days. Read together, MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 indicate that the "action" to be commenced within 180 days is "trial," not some undefined effort by the prosecutor or some preliminary proceeding leading to trial. To read the statutes otherwise would be to contradict the Legislature's mandate in MCL 780.131 that "the inmate shall be brought to trial within 180 days."
As the Court of Appeals has noted, "All questions concerning the 180-day rule begin and end with the statute, the key words of which are `such inmate shall be brought to trial within 180 days.' Simply, this statute is mandatory and means that an inmate is entitled to a trial within 180 days."
The majority admits that the 180-day rule consists of both MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133. However, it ignores MCL 780.131 when interpreting the requirements of the rule and the punishment for noncompliance. Instead, relying on Hendershot, it holds that the statutes allow the 180-day period to be exceeded if "`apparent good-faith action is taken well within the period and the people proceed promptly and with dispatch thereafter toward readying the case for trial[.]'"
Not only does the majority's interpretation ignore the clear legislative mandate in MCL 780.131 that an inmate must be brought to trial within 180 days, it effectively adds nonexistent language to the statute. The text of the statute contains no reference to "good faith." The majority
Good-faith efforts on behalf of the prosecution must be categorized as a judicially created exception to the 180-day rule, stemming from Hendershot. The 180-day rule requires a trial to begin within 180 days. Anything that allows a trial to be postponed beyond the 180 days allotted is necessarily an exception to the rule. No amount of rationalizing can change the fact that the Legislature wrote in no such exception.
The majority's interpretation is that if "apparent good-faith action is taken well within the period and the people proceed promptly and with dispatch thereafter toward readying the case for trial, the condition of the statute for the court's retention of jurisdiction is met." This interpretation contains a second fundamental flaw: it places the burden of good-faith action solely on the prosecution, not on the trial court. Its practical effect is that the judge could indefinitely postpone trial in defiance of MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133.
The scheduling of cases is within the sole discretion of the court. The prosecutor does not control it. Even if prosecuting attorneys do everything within their power to bring cases to trial, they cannot force courts to schedule trials within 180 days of notice. A court can delay any trial from commencing, citing docket congestion or other reasons. If this type of delay is not taken into account by the 180-day rule, an inmate could be forced to sit in prison indefinitely awaiting trial.
This problem is effectively illustrated by the procedural history of the instant case. The 180-day period relevant to this appeal began on July 23, 2006.
Thus, from November 28, 2006, to September 5, 2007, the court alone adjourned defendant's trial well in excess of 180 days. Yet the majority concludes that no violation of the 180-day rule occurred.
Under its interpretation and under Hendershot, as long as the prosecutor stands ready for trial, the court may adjourn a trial date as many times as it wishes. It need give no explanation for the length of the adjournments. Thus, even if no "action is commenced" for an indefinite time, a court may retain its jurisdiction over the
The majority justifies its interpretation of the 180-day rule with the fact that this Court previously sanctioned such an interpretation in Hendershot. For the reasons I have described, I believe that Hendershot was wrongly decided. If an opinion is wrongly decided, we must apply the doctrine of stare decisis when deciding whether to overrule it. Our analysis always should begin with a presumption that upholding precedent is the preferred course of action.
In determining whether a compelling justification exists to overturn precedent, the Court may consider numerous evaluative criteria, none of which, standing alone, is dispositive. These criteria include, but are not limited to, whether (1) the precedent has proved to be intolerable because it defies practical workability, (2) reliance on the precedent is such that overruling it would cause a special hardship and inequity, (3) related principles of law have so far developed since the precedent was pronounced that no more than a remnant of it has survived, (4) facts and circumstances have so changed, or have come to be seen so differently, that the precedent no longer has significant application or justification, (5) other jurisdictions have decided similar issues in a different manner, (6) upholding the precedent is likely to result in serious detriment prejudicial to public interests, and (7) the prior decision was an abrupt and largely unexplained departure from then-existing precedent.
First, I consider whether Hendershot has proved intolerable because it defies practical workability. I believe that this factor weighs strongly in favor of overruling Hendershot. Under Hendershot, it is unclear what constitutes a sufficient basis for a court to determine that the prosecution has acted in good faith to bring a defendant to trial. Making that determination requires an inherently subjective and effectively standardless inquiry. The answer may vary widely from judge to judge.
What constitutes a good-faith effort in the eyes of one judge may not reach the mark in the eyes of another. For example, if a prosecutor delays trial for 180 days while diligently searching for a witness, is that sufficient good faith for a court to excuse the delay and retain jurisdiction? The answer is unclear. Further compounding the impracticability of Hendershot is the question of how a court is to make such a determination from the record. Whether a prosecutor has made good-faith efforts often will not be discernable from the record.
Hendershot contorted the 180-day rule into a confusing and ambiguous test. It left unclear what would constitute a prosecutor's good-faith efforts and when, if ever, the prosecutor's efforts would violate the
Second, I consider whether reliance interests weigh in favor of upholding Hendershot. I conclude that this factor slightly favors upholding Hendershot. The Court decided that case more than 50 years ago, and there has been reliance on its holding. However, the reliance has been limited. Even after the Hendershot decision, Michigan courts have interpreted MCL 780.133 Inconsistently, causing confusion about what must be done to prevent a court from losing jurisdiction over the defendant on the untried charge. For example, the court of appeals has held that the language of the 180-day rule requires an inmate to be brought to trial within 180 days.
Given that the caselaw on this issue is conflicting, a careful prosecutor or trial judge would not unconditionally rely on Hendershot as foolproof justification for delay in commencing a trial. Furthermore, MCL 780.131 unequivocally states that an inmate "shall be brought to trial within 180 days."
Third, I consider whether related principles of law have developed since Hendershot was decided that have undermined its authority. As I pointed out, both this Court and the Court of Appeals have held that the 180-day rule requires an inmate to be brought to trial within 180 days notwithstanding Hendershot.
Fourth, I consider whether facts and circumstances have so changed or have come to be seen so differently that Hendershot has been robbed of significant justification. I discern no factual or circumstantial changes that weigh for or against overruling Hendershot. Therefore, this factor is inapplicable to my analysis.
Fifth, I consider whether other jurisdictions have decided similar issues in a different manner. This factor also is inapplicable to my stare decisis analysis. Although other jurisdictions have statutorily supplemented the constitutional right to a speedy trial, the unique language of MCL 780.131 and MCL 780.133 renders other jurisdictions' interpretations of similar statutes unhelpful to our analysis.
Sixth, I consider whether upholding Hendershot is likely to result in serious detriment prejudicial to public interests. This factor weighs in favor of overruling Hendershot. It is in the public interest to see that those accused of crimes are timely brought to trial. It is also in the public interest that both the United States Constitution and the Michigan Constitution be upheld. And both guarantee the right to a speedy trial.
Despite the public's interest in seeing criminal charges disposed of in a timely manner, Hendershot's holding permits criminal charges to remain untried for an indeterminate time. While ostensibly protecting an inmate's statutory right to a speedy trial, it leaves MCL 780.131 devoid of effect in many cases. Thus, Hendershot is detrimental to the public interests addressed by the 180-day rule.
Finally, I consider whether Hendershot represented an abrupt and largely unexplained departure from then-existing precedent. This factor is inapplicable to my stare decisis analysis because Hendershot was the first case to decide the issue. Thus, no precedent existed from which Hendershot could depart.
In summary, Hendershot (1) was wrongly decided, (2) defies practical workability, (3) has been undermined by subsequent caselaw, (4) would not cause a special hardship or inequity if overruled, and (5) has resulted in serious detriment prejudicial to public interests. Accordingly, I conclude that a compelling justification exists for overruling Hendershot.
The majority concludes that the 180-day rule is not violated if the prosecution takes some initial action to bring a defendant to trial, unless the action is followed by "inexcusable delay beyond the 180-day period and an evident intent not to bring the case to trial promptly." The flaws in this interpretation are breathtaking. First, the interpretation ignores the clear language of MCL 780.131 that requires an inmate to be brought to trial within 180 days. Second, it imports language into MCL 780.133 that the Legislature never put there by giving a convoluted definition to the word "action." Third, it allows the trial judge to indefinitely delay a trial by citing docket congestion or other reasons.
The majority relies for its interpretation of the 180-day rule on the holding in Hendershot. However, Hendershot was wrongly decided, and compelling reasons exist to overturn it. I would overrule Hendershot and hold that the statutory 180-day rule requires that trial be commenced within 180 days of notice to the prosecution, excluding periods of delay that a defendant waived. Such a construction is faithful to the statutory language because it gives effect to the mandate of MCL 780.131 that an inmate be brought to trial within 180 days. In light of my analysis, I would reverse the Court of Appeals' judgment.
MICHAEL F. CAVANAGH, J., concurs.
MARY BETH KELLY, J., I do not participate in the decision of this case, which the Court considered before I assumed office, in order to avoid unnecessary delay to the parties. MCR 2.003(B) and (D)(3)(b).
A day count and assignment of responsibility for periods of delay are also expressly required by Michigan's pretrial release rule, MCR 6.004(C), which applies to defendants who are incarcerated as a result of pending charges. Under this rule, "[i]n computing the 28-day and 180-day periods" after which a defendant generally must be released on personal recognizance during the pendency of the proceedings, "the court is to exclude" delays caused by various events including, for example, "adjournment[s] requested or consented to by the defendant's lawyer." MCR 6.004(C)(3).
The absence of any equivalent language in MCL 780.131 or MCL 780.133 referring to apportioning delay or granting continuances is highly significant. As noted, MCL 780.133 prescribes a harsh penalty—dismissal of the criminal charge with prejudice. It is entirely rational for the Legislature to have employed language that ensures that this penalty obtains only when "action is not commenced," rather than when the defendant is not "brought to trial," when it drafted a serious penalty provision that contains no mechanism for granting continuances or apportioning delay.