Sixth Circuit rules that detention did not violate Sixth Amendment

June 5, 2012

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit: Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision that said a man's 17 year long detention did not violate the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Buxton Craig Heyerman had served six months of a 20-40 year long prison term when the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed his conviction in 1989. In 2007, Heyerman filed a motion that his right to a speedy trial was violated, since a hearing on the reversal was never initiated by the trial court in Calhoun County. That year, the court found in favor of the plaintiff, ruling that his constitutional rights were violated and that the original criminal charge should be dismissed.

In 2009, Heyerman filed a civil rights action against Calhoun County, the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office, an individual prosecutor in the county, the Michigan Department of Corrections, its Director, the Michigan Parole Board, and its Chairperson. The last four defendants were never served, and the Prosecutor's Office was found to be a non-existent entity.

In its opinion, the Court systematically refuted Heyerman's claim that the prosecutor or government's actions violated any civil rights. It said that no evidence existed that proved any prosecutors serving at that time were made aware of the reversal, nor did the county have policies in place that obviously alleged harm.

The most interesting part of the ruling was the concurring opinion of Judge Jeffrey Sutton. While acknowledging that this situation did not represent the finest hour of the Michigan criminal justice system, he summarized the argument brilliantly by saying, "The Sixth Amendment guarantees speedy trials, not speedy detention." Furthermore, he went on to explain that not filing a motion earlier to bring the case back to trial was actually a strategy of Heyerman and his attorney. They intended to wait until 1997, when the statute of limitations passed for the original crime. (For this representation, the attorney was later suspended from the practice of law and fined.)

To read the ruling in its entirety, see: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Opinion: Heyerman v. City of Calhoun, et al., May 29, 2012.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeals of nine U.S. District Courts in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.