LASTER v. STATE, 313 Md. 548 (1988)

546 A.2d 472

No. 72, September Term, 1987.Court of Appeals of Maryland.
September 9, 1988.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Howard County, J. Thomas Nissel, J.

Page 549

Arthur A. DeLano, Jr., Asst. Public Defender (Alan H. Murrell, Public Defender, on the brief), Baltimore, for appellant.

Ann E. Singleton, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., on the brief), Baltimore, for appellee.

Argued before MURPHY, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, COLE, RODOWSKY, McAULIFFE, ADKINS and BLACKWELL, JJ.

BLACKWELL, Judge.

The Interstate Agreement on Detainers (“IAD”) provides two different time periods within which the receiving state must bring the prisoner to trial. If a prisoner initiates the proceedings under Article III, then the trial must commence within 180 days after the “prosecuting officer” and the “appropriate court” receive the prisoner’s request. If a member state initiates the proceedings under Article IV, then the trial must commence within 120 days of the prisoner’s arrival in the receiving state. The sanction for failure to comply with the prescribed time periods is a dismissal of the charge or charges with prejudice. This case concerns

Page 550

the application of these time periods when there are multiple jurisdictions in the receiving state who have lodged detainers against the prisoner as well as the application of these time periods when both the prisoner and the member state initiate proceedings under the IAD.

I
We begin with a brief history of the case. Since July of 1985, Petitioner Michael Edward Laster (“Laster”) has been serving a term of life imprisonment for first degree rape in North Carolina. In November of 1985, Laster was transported to Maryland pursuant to the IAD and subsequently prosecuted in Anne Arundel County and in Howard County. In March of 1986, in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County (Thieme, J.), Laster was tried and convicted in two sexual offense cases. On April 30, 1986, Laster appeared in the Circuit Court for Howard County (Nissel, J.), and subsequently was convicted of first degree sexual offense, third degree sexual offense, armed robbery, wearing and carrying a handgun, and three counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a felony.

Laster appealed the judgment of the Circuit Court for Howard County to the Court of Special Appeals and, among other allegations of error, claimed that Howard County had failed to comply with the 120 day time period prescribed in Article IV of the IAD. In an unreported opinion, the Court of Special Appeals concluded that there was “no provision within Article IV making the 120-day period applicable to all prosecuting authorities within a single state” and, finding no other error, affirmed the convictions. We granted certiorari at 310 Md. 144, 527 A.2d 331
(1987).

II
The Interstate Agreement on Detainers, to which Maryland became a signatory in 1965, consists of nine articles and a number of supplemental provisions. Maryland Code

Page 551

(1957, 1987 Repl. Vol.), Article 27, § 616A-616R.[1] In addition, there are eight optional implemental forms, set forth in full in an appendix to this opinion, which apparently have been adopted for use in this state by the Office of the Attorney General and which were used in this case.[2]

The purpose of the IAD is found in Article I:

“The party states find that charges outstanding against a prisoner, detainers based on untried indictments, informations or complaints, and difficulties in securing speedy trial of persons already incarcerated in other jurisdictions, produce uncertainties which obstruct programs of prisoner treatment and rehabilitation. Accordingly, it is the policy of the party states and the purpose of this agreement to encourage the expeditious and orderly disposition of such charges and determination of the proper status of any and all detainers based on untried indictments, informations, or complaints. The party states also find that proceedings with reference to such charges and detainers, when emanating from another jurisdiction, cannot properly be had in the absence of cooperative procedures. It is the further purpose of this agreement to provide such cooperative procedures.”

The central provisions of the IAD are Articles III and IV. Article III permits a prisoner incarcerated in a member state to demand disposition of any “untried indictment, information or complaint [pending in another member state]

Page 552

on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner.” Article III(a) provides, in part:

“Whenever a person has entered upon a term of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution of a party state, and whenever during the continuance of the term of imprisonment there is pending in any other party state any untried indictment, information or complaint on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner, he shall be brought to trial within one hundred eighty days after he shall have caused to be delivered to the prosecuting officer and the appropriate court of the prosecuting officer’s jurisdiction written notice of the place of his imprisonment and his request for a final disposition to be made of the indictment, information or complaint: provided that for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction over the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance.”

The prisoner’s demand:

“operate[s] as a request for final disposition of all untried indictments, informations or complaints on the basis of which detainers have been lodged against the prisoner from the state to whose prosecuting official the request for final disposition is specifically directed.
* * * * * *
If trial is not had on any indictment, information or complaint contemplated hereby prior to the return of the prisoner to the original place of imprisonment, such indictment, information or complaint shall not be of any further force or effect, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice.”

Article III(d).

Article IV permits the “appropriate officer” of a member state, who has previously filed a detainer against the prisoner, to obtain temporary custody of a prisoner incarcerated in another member state against whom any “untried indictment, information or complaint is pending.” Article IV(a) provides:

Page 553

“The appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information or complaint is pending shall be entitled to have a prisoner against whom he has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party state made available [for temporary custody] upon presentation of a written request for temporary custody or availability to the appropriate authorities of the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated: provided that the court having jurisdiction of such indictment, information or complaint shall have duly approved, recorded and transmitted the request: and provided further that there shall be a period of thirty days . . . within which the governor of the sending state may disapprove the request for temporary custody. . . .”

Article IV(c) continues:

“In respect of any proceeding made possible by this Article, trial shall be commenced within one hundred twenty days of the arrival of the prisoner in the receiving state, but for good cause shown in open court, the prisoner and his counsel being present, the court having jurisdiction over the matter may grant any necessary or reasonable continuance.”

And Article IV(e) provides:

“If trial is not had on any indictment, information or complaint contemplated hereby prior to the prisoner’s being returned to the original place of imprisonment . . . such indictment, information or complaint shall not be of any further force or effect, and the court shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice.”

Finally, with respect to both a prisoner demand for disposition under Article III and a member state request for temporary custody under Article IV, Article V(c) provides:

“If the appropriate authority shall refuse or fail to accept temporary custody of said person, or in the event that an action on the indictment, information or complaint on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged is not brought to trial within the period provided in Article III or Article

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IV hereof, the appropriate court of the jurisdiction where the indictment, information or complaint has been pending shall enter an order dismissing the same with prejudice, and any detainer based thereon shall cease to be of any force or effect.”

A.
Article III, read in conjunction with the forms, works as follows. When a detainer is lodged by a member state against a prisoner incarcerated in another member state, the warden of the prison, using Form 1 (“Notice of Untried Indictment, Information or Complaint and of Right to Request Disposition”), informs the prisoner of the detainer and the prisoner’s right to request disposition of the charge or charges upon which the detainer is based.[3] If the prisoner wants to request disposition, he or she signs Forms 1 and 2 and returns them to the warden. Upon receipt of Forms 1 and 2, the warden sends Forms 2 (“Inmate’s Notice of Place of Confinement and Request for Disposition of Indictments, Informations or Complaints”), 3 (“Certificate of Inmate Status”) and 4 (“Offer to Deliver Temporary Custody”) by registered or certified mail to the “appropriate prosecuting official and court.”[4] Upon receipt of Forms 2, 3 and 4, the prosecutor completes Form 7 (“Prosecutor’s Acceptance of Temporary Custody Offered in Connection

Page 555

with a Prisoner’s Request for Disposition of A Detainer”), in which the prosecutor certifies that the prisoner will be brought to trial within the time specified in Article III, and sends it to the warden. The prosecutor also completes Form 6 (“Evidence of Agent’s Authority to Act for Receiving State”), which indicates both the date the prisoner will be transported from the sending state and the date of the prisoner’s trial,[5] and sends it to the receiving state’s Agreement Administrator.[6] The Agreement Administrator signs-off on Form 6 and sends it to the warden.

If there are other detainers lodged against the prisoner from the receiving state, those detainers are included on the

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prisoner’s request for disposition (Form 2) and the warden’s offer to deliver temporary custody extends to those jurisdictions (Form 4). The warden sends copies of Forms 2, 3 and 4 to the prosecuting officers and appropriate courts in these jurisdictions[7] and the prosecutors who want to bring the prisoner to trial complete Form 8 (“Prosecutor’s Acceptance of Temporary Custody Offered in Connection with a Prisoner’s Request for Disposition of a Detainer”), in which the prosecutor certifies that the prisoner will be brought to trial within the time specified in Article III. The prosecutor sends copies of Form 8 to the warden, the Agreement Administrator in the receiving state, and the other prosecutors listed in the offer for temporary custody.

B.
Article IV, read in conjunction with the forms, works as follows. If a prosecutor in a member state wants temporary custody of a prisoner incarcerated in another member state, the prosecutor completes Form 5 (“Request for Temporary Custody”), in which the prosecutor certifies that he will bring the prisoner to trial within the time specified in Article IV, and sends copies of Form 5 to the prisoner and the warden having custody of the prisoner. Following a 30 day period in which the governor of the sending state may deny the request, the warden then forwards Forms 3 (“Certificate of Inmate Status”) and 4 (“Offer to Deliver Temporary Custody”) to the requesting prosecutor.[8] Upon receipt

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of Forms 3 and 4, the prosecutor completes Form 6 (“Evidence of the Agent’s Authority to Act for the Receiving State”), which indicates the date that the prisoner will be transported from the sending state and the date of the prisoner’s trial, and sends it to the Agreement Administrator in the receiving state.[9] The Agreement Administrator signs-off and sends it to the warden.

If there are other jurisdictions in the receiving state who have lodged detainers, those jurisdictions are included in the offer to deliver temporary custody and the warden sends copies of Forms 3 and 4 to the prosecuting officers and appropriate courts in those jurisdictions.[10] If the prosecutors in those jurisdictions want to bring the prisoner to trial, those prosecutors complete Form 8 (“Prosecutor’s Acceptance of Temporary Custody Offered in Connection with Another Prosecutor’s Request for Disposition of A Detainer”),

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in which the prosecutor certifies that the prisoner will be brought to trial within the time specified in Article IV.

III
We start with the facts relating to the Anne Arundel County detainer. On October 8, 1985, Anne Arundel County lodged a detainer against Laster in Central Prison, North Carolina. On October 22, the warden, using Form 1, notified Laster of the detainer and his right to request final disposition. On the same day, Anne Arundel County, using Form 5, requested temporary custody of Laster. On October 28, Laster received his copy of Form 5. In response, Laster, using Form 2, made a written demand for disposition. On the following day, the warden forwarded Forms 2, 3 and 4, and, in a cover letter which accompanied the forms, directed the prosecutor to complete Form 6 and Form 7 (“Prosecutor’s Acceptance of Temporary Custody Offered in Connection with a Prisoner’s Request for Disposition of a Detainer”). On November 4, Anne Arundel County, referring to the warden’s cover letter, sent Form 7, certifying that Laster would be brought to trial within the 180 day time period set forth in Article III. Finally, on November 13, the Agreement Administrator for Maryland sent Form 6 to the warden.

Howard County lodged its detainer against Laster in November of 1984 while he was a pretrial detainee in North Carolina. The record indicates that the Howard County detainer followed Laster to Central Prison and that the warden mistakenly believed that the Howard County and Anne Arundel County detainers, which contained almost identical charges, were based on the same indictment. Consequently, none of the multiple jurisdiction procedures were followed by the warden or the Howard County prosecutors. Howard County eventually got custody of Laster from Anne Arundel County by use of an intrastate detainer.

IV
The threshold issue in this case is whether all jurisdictions in the receiving state who have lodged detainers

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against the prisoner must bring the prisoner to trial within the time periods prescribed in Articles III and IV.

While the IAD is silent on this issue, the forms, written by the drafters of the IAD, plainly indicate that each jurisdiction in the receiving state which has lodged a detainer is bound to bring the prisoner to trial within the specified time periods. In Form 7, which is intended for use by all prosecutors in the receiving state who accept temporary custody in connection with a prisoner request for disposition, the prosecutor certifies that the prisoner will be brought to trial within the time set forth in Article III. Similarly, in Form 8, which is intended for use by all prosecutors who accept temporary custody in connection with another prosecutor’s request for temporary custody, the prosecutor certifies that the prisoner will be brought to trial within the time specified in Article IV. Reading Forms 7 and 8, we are convinced that the drafters intended that each jurisdiction in the receiving state which has lodged a detainer must bring the prisoner to trial within the prescribed time periods. Accord The Handbook on Interstate Crime Control, supra
note 2, at 111-12, under “Suggested Instructions for Prosecutors” (With respect to a member state initiated request, “[t]he agreement requires that trial be commenced within 120 days from the time the prisoner arrives within your state. If other jurisdictions in your state also have detainers pending against the inmate, trials on their indictments, informations or complaints must also be begun within this same 120-day period.”) (With respect to a prisoner initiated request, “[p]rovisions of the agreement regarding disposition of indictments, informations or complaints pending in other jurisdictions in your state apply in the same manner as they do in actions initiated by a prosecutor.”)

The Court of Special Appeals reached a contrary conclusion stating, among other things, that “such an interpretation . . . would unduly burden the prosecuting authorities in the receiving state.” We disagree for two reasons. First, both time periods may be extended for “good cause

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shown in open court, the prisoner or his counsel being present.” Clearly, the prospect of multiple trials in the receiving state would establish good cause for a continuance. Second, under Article VII, each member state is required to designate an Agreement Administrator. The Agreement Administrator:

“shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out more effectively the terms and provisions of this agreement, [and] shall provide, within and without the state, information necessary to the effective operation of [the IAD].”

Given that each member state has an Agreement Administrator who functions, at least in part, to assist prosecutors in coordinating trials and given that prosecutors may seek continuances where there are multiple trials in the receiving state, we are unpersuaded that our reading of the IAD places an undue burden on the receiving state.

The second issue is whether the 180 day rule, the 120 day rule, or both, apply when the prisoner and the member state initiate proceedings under the IAD.

While there is one author who suggests, without citation of authority, that the prisoner may be entitled to the benefit of both time periods when both the prisoner and the member state initiate proceedings under the IAD, see Abramson, Criminal Detainers, p. 109 (1979), we think that this result was not intended by the drafters of the IAD and decline to follow it. The effect of two clocks running against the State is to place an outside limit of 180 days on the time within which the receiving state must transport the prisoner into the receiving state or dismiss the indictment. While the IAD no doubt contemplates the timely transportation of the prisoner into the receiving state pursuant to a prosecutor initiated request, a member state’s statutory obligation is to bring the prisoner to trial within 120 days of the prisoner’s arrival in the state. If the result were otherwise, every member state request for temporary custody would be followed by a prisoner request for final disposition. It is our view that the IAD contemplates two

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separate mechanisms for proceeding under the Agreement, one for prisoners and one for member states, and that any given proceeding under the IAD is governed either by the provisions relating to a prisoner demand for disposition or the provisions relating to a member state request for temporary custody. The question thus becomes whether the IAD proceeding in the case at bar was pursuant to a prisoner demand for disposition or a member state request for temporary custody.

On October 28, with knowledge of Anne Arundel County’s request for temporary custody, Laster demanded disposition under Article III. On November 4, Anne Arundel County, without objection to Laster’s demand for disposition, accepted the warden’s offer of temporary custody in connection with a prisoner request for disposition. Under these circumstances, Laster gained the right to be tried within the 180 day period prescribed in Article III. We conclude that he is so bound.

Laster’s trial in Howard County commenced within the 180 day period set forth in Article III and we accordingly affirm.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED. PETITIONER TO PAY COSTS.

MURPHY, C.J., and RODOWSKY and McAULIFFE, JJ., concur.

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—————————————————————————-
In duplicate, One copy of this form, signed by the prisoner and the warden
should be retained by the warden. One copy, signed by the warden, should be
retained by the prisoner.
—————————————————————————-

NOTICE OF UNTRIED INDICTMENT, INFORMATION OR COMPLAINT AND OF RIGHT TO
REQUEST DISPOSITION

Inmate _________________ No. ___________________ Inst. _____________________

Pursuant to the Agreement on Detainers, you are hereby informed that the
following are the untried indictments, informations or complaints against
you concerning which the undersigned has knowledge, and the source and
contests [sic] of each.

You are hereby further advised that by the provisions of said agreement
you have the right to request the appropriate prosecuting officer of the
jurisdiction in which any such indictment, information or complaint is
pending and the appropriate court that a final disposition be made thereof.
You shall then be brought to trial within 180 days, unless extended
pursuant to provisions of the agreement, after you have caused to be
delivered to said prosecuting officer and said court written notice of the
place of your imprisonment and your said request, together with a
certificate of the custodial authority as more fully set forth in said
agreement. However, the court having jurisdiction of the matter may grant
any necessary or reasonable continuance.

Your request for final disposition will operate as a request for final
disposition of all untried indictments, informations or complaints on the
basis of which detainers have been lodged against you from the state to
whose prosecuting official your request for final disposition is
specifically directed. Your request will also be deemed to be a waiver of
extradition with respect to any charge or proceeding contemplated thereby
or included therein and a waiver of extradition to the state of trial to
serve any sentence there imposed upon you, after completion of your term
of imprisonment in this state. Your request will also constitute a consent
by you to the production of your body in any court where your presence may
be required in order to effectuate the purposes of the Agreement on
Detainers and a further consent voluntarily to be returned to the
institution in which you are now confined.

Should you desire such a request for final disposition of any untried
indictment, information or complaint, you are to notify ____________________
of the institution in which you are confined.

You are also advised that under provisions of said agreement the
prosecuting officer of a jurisdiction in which any such indictment,
information or complaint is pending may institute proceedings to obtain a
final disposition thereof. In such event, you may oppose the request that
you be delivered to such prosecuting officer or court. You may request the
Governor of this state to disapprove any such request for your temporary
custody but you cannot oppose delivery on the grounds that the Governor has
not affirmatively consented to or ordered such delivery.

DATED: _________________ _______________________________________________
(Insert name and title of custodial authority)

BY: _______________________________________________
Warden-Superintendent-Director

RECEIVED
DATE ________________

INMATE _________________________ NO _________________

Page 563

FORM 2

—————————————————————————-

Five copies, if only one jurisdiction within the state involved has an
indictment, information or complaint pending. Additional copies will be
necessary for prosecuting officials and clerks of court if detainers have
been lodged by other jurisdictions within the state involved. One copy
should be retained by the prisoner. One signed copy should be retained by
the warden. Signed copies must be sent to the Agreement Administrator
of the state which has the prisoner incarcerated, the prosecuting official
of the jurisdiction which placed the detainer, and the clerk of the court
which has jurisdiction over the matter. The copies for the prosecuting
officials and the court must be transmitted by certified or registered mail,
return receipt requested.

—————————————————————————-

INMATE’S NOTICE OF PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT AND REQUEST FOR DISPOSITION OF
INDICTMENTS, INFORMATIONS OR COMPLAINTS

TO: _________________________, Prosecuting Officer, ________________________
(Jurisdiction)
_________________________, Court _______________________________________
(Jurisdiction)

And to all other prosecuting officers and courts of jurisdictions listed
below from which indictments, informations or complaints are pending.

You are hereby notified that the undersigned is now imprisoned in
______________________________________ at __________________________________
(Institution) (Town and State)
and I hereby request that a final disposition be made of the following
indictments, informations or complaints now pending against me:

Failure to take action in accordance with the Agreement on Detainers, to
which your state is committed by law, will result in the invalidation of
the indictments, informations or complaints.

I hereby agree that this request will operate as a request for final
disposition of all untried indictments, informations or complaints on the
basis of which detainers have been lodged against me from your state. I also
agree that this request shall be deemed to be my waiver of extradition with
respect to any charge or proceeding contemplated hereby or included herein,
and a waiver of extradition to your state to serve any sentence there
imposed upon me, after completion of my term of imprisonment in this state.
I also agree that this request shall constitute a consent by me to the
production of my body in any court where my presence may be required in
order to effectuate the purposes of the Agreement on Detainers and a further
consent voluntarily to be returned to the institution in which I now am
confined.

If jurisdiction over this matter is properly in another agency, court or
officer, please designate the proper agency, court or officer and return
this form to the sender.

The required Certificate of Inmate Status and Offer of Temporary Custody
are attached.

DATED: _________________ _______________________________
(Inmate’s Name and Number)

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CLEARING DETAINERS

The inmate must indicate below whether he has counsel or wishes the court
to appoint counsel for purposes of any proceedings preliminary to trial
which may take place before his delivery to the jurisdiction in which the
indictment, information or complaint is pending. Failure to list the name
and address of counsel will be construed to indicate the inmate’s consent
to the appointment of counsel by the appropriate court in the receiving
state.

A. My counsel is _______________________________________________________
(Name of Counsel)

whose address is ___________________________________________________
(Street, City and State)

B. I request the court to appoint counsel.
________________________________________
(Inmate’s Signature)

FORM 3

—————————————————————————-

In the case of an inmate’s request for disposition under Article III, copies
of this Form should be attached to all copies of Form II. In the case of a
request initiated by a prosecutor under Article IV, copy of this Form should
be sent to the prosecutor upon receipt by the warden of Form V. Copies also
should be sent to all other prosecutors in the same state who have lodged
detainers against the inmate. A copy may be given to the inmate.

—————————————————————————-

CERTIFICATE OF INMATE STATUS

Re: ________________________________________________________________________
(Inmate) (Number) (Institution) (Location)

The [custodial authority] hereby certifies:

1. The term of commitment under which the prisoner above named is being
held:

2. The time already served:
3. Time remaining to be served on the sentence:
4. The amount of good time earned:
5. The date of parole eligibility of the prisoner:
6. The decisions of the Board of Parole relating to the prisoner: (if
additional space is needed use reverse side)

7. Maximum expiration date under present sentence:
8. Detainers currently on file against this inmate from your state are
as follows:

DATED: ____________ __________________________________________________
Custodial Authority

BY: _______________________________________________
Warden-Superintendent-Director

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FORM 4

—————————————————————————-
In the case of an inmate’s request for disposition under Article III, copies
of this Form should be attached to all copies of Form II. In the case of a
request initiated by a prosecutor this Form should be completed after the
Governor has indicated his approval of the request for temporary custody or
after the expiration of the 30 day period. Copies of this Form should then
be sent to all officials who previously received copies of Form III. One
copy also should be given to the prisoner and one copy should be retained by
the warden. Copies mailed to the prosecutor should be sent by certified or
registered mail, return receipt requested.
—————————————————————————-

OFFER TO DELIVER TEMPORARY CUSTODY

Date _______________________

TO: _______________________________________ Prosecuting Officer
(Insert Name and Title If Known)

__________________________________________
(Jurisdiction)

And to all other prosecuting officers and courts of jurisdictions listed
below from which indictments, informations or complaints are pending.

RE: _____________________________________ Number ___________________________
(Inmate)

Dear Sir:

Pursuant to the provisions of Article V of the Agreement on Detainers
between this state and your state, the undersigned hereby offers to deliver
temporary custody of the above-named prisoner to the appropriate authority
in your state in order that speedy and efficient prosecution may be had of
the indictment, information or complaint which is [described in the attached
inmate’s request] [described in your request for custody of
_____________________________________].
(Date)

If proceedings under Article IV(d) of the agreement are indicated, an
explanation is attached.

Indictments, informations or complaints charging the following offenses
also are pending against the inmate in your state and you are hereby
authorized to transfer the inmate to custody of appropriate authorities in
these jurisdictions for purposes of disposing of these indictments,
informations or complaints.

Offense County or Other Jurisdiction

___________________________ ____________________________________________
___________________________ ____________________________________________
___________________________ ____________________________________________
___________________________ ____________________________________________

If you do not intend to bring the inmate to trial, will you please inform
us as soon as possible?

Kindly acknowledge.

________________________________________
(Name and Title of Custodial Authority)

BY: _________________________________________________
(Warden-Superintendent-Director)

________________________________________
(Institution and Address)

Page 566

FORM 5

—————————————————————————-

Five copies, Signed copies must be sent to the prisoner and to the official
who has the prisoner in custody. A copy should be sent to the Agreement
Administrator of the state which has the prisoner incarcerated. Copies
should be retained by the person filing the request and the judge who signs
the request.

—————————————————————————-

REQUEST FOR TEMPORARY CUSTODY

TO: ________________________________________________________________________
(Warden-Superintendent-Director) (Institution)

______________________________________________________________________
(Address)

Please be advised that _________________________________, who is presently
an inmate of your institution, is under [indictment] [information] [complaint] in the _________________________________________________________
____________________ of which I am the _____________________________________
(Jurisdiction) (Title of Prosecuting Officer)
Said inmate is therein charged with the [offense] [offenses] enumerated
below:

Offense

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

I propose to bring this person to trial on this [indictment] [information] [complaint] within the time specified in Article IV(c) of the agreement.

In order that proceedings in this matter may be properly had, I hereby
request temporary custody of such persons pursuant to Article IV(a) of the
Agreement on Detainers.

Signed: ___________________________________
Title: ____________________________________

I hereby certify that the person whose signature appears above is an
appropriate officer within the meaning of Article IV(a) and that the facts
recited in this request for temporary custody are correct and that having
duly recorded said request I hereby transmit it for action in accordance
with its terms and the provisions of the Agreement on Detainers.

DATED: _______________________ Signed: ___________________________
(Judge)

_____________________________
(Court)

Page 567

FORM 6

—————————————————————————-

In quadruplicate. All copies, signed by the prosecutor and the agent should
be sent to the Agreement Administrator of their own state. After signing all
copies, the Administrator should retain one for his files, send one to the
warden of the institution in which the prisoner is located and return two
copies to the prosecutor who will give one to the agent for use in
establishing his authority and place one in his files.

—————————————————————————-

EVIDENCE OF AGENT’S AUTHORITY TO ACT FOR RECEIVING STATE

TO: ___________________________________________________
(Administrator of the Agreement on Detainers)

_____________________________ is confined in __________________________
(Inmate) (Institution)
____________________________________, and will be taken into custody at the
(Address)
institution on _____________________________ for return to this jurisdiction
(Date)
for trial on or about ___________________________ In accordance with Article
(Date)
V(b), I have designated ____________________________________ whose signature
appears below as agent to return the prisoner.

__________________________________________
(Prosecuting Official)
__________________________________
(Agent’s Signature)

TO: Warden

In accordance with the above representation and the provisions of the
Agreement on Detainers, ______________________ is hereby designated as
(Agent)
agent for this state to return ____________________________ for trial.
(Inmate)

__________________________________________
(Administrator)

Page 568

FORM 7

—————————————————————————-
IMPORTANT: This form should only be used when an offer of temporary custody
has been received as the result of a prisoner’s request for disposition of
a detainer. If the offer has been received because another prosecutor in
your state has initiated the request, use Form VIII. Copies of Form VII
should be sent to the warden, the prisoner, the other jurisdictions in your
state listed in the offer of temporary custody, and the Agreement
Administrator of the state which has the prisoner incarcerated. Copies
should be retained by the person filing the acceptance and the judge who
signs it.
—————————————————————————-

PROSECUTOR’S ACCEPTANCE OF TEMPORARY CUSTODY OFFERED IN CONNECTION WITH A
PRISONER’S REQUEST FOR DISPOSITION OF A DETAINER

TO: ____________________________________ _________________________________
(Warden, Superintendent, Director) (Institution)

____________________________________________________________________________
(Address)

In response to your letter of _________________ and offer of temporary
(date)
custody regarding _________________________________________ who is presently
(Name of Prisoner)
under indictment, information or complaint in the _________________ of which
(Jurisdiction)
I am ____________________________, please be advised that I accept temporary
(Title of Prosecuting Officer)
custody and that I propose to bring this person to trial on the indictment,
information or complaint named in the offer within the time specified in
Article III(a) of the Agreement on Detainers.

COMMENTS: [If your jurisdiction is the only one named in the offer of
temporary custody, use the space below to indicate when you would like to
send your agents to conduct the prisoner to your jurisdiction. If the offer
of temporary custody has been sent to other jurisdictions in your state, use
the space below to make inquiry as to the order in which you will receive
custody, or to indicate any arrangements you have already made with other
jurisdictions in your state in this regard.]

Signed: ____________________________________
Title: _____________________________________

I hereby certify that the person whose signature appears above is an
appropriate officer within the meaning of Article IV(a) and that the facts
recited in this request for temporary custody are correct and that having
duly recorded said request I hereby transmit it for action in accordance
with its terms and the provisions of the Agreement on Detainers.

DATED: _____________________ Signed: ____________________________
(Judge)

____________________________
(Court)

FORM 8

—————————————————————————-
IMPORTANT: This form should only be used when an offer of temporary custody
has been received as the result of another prosecutor’s request for
disposition of a detainer. If the offer has been received because a prisoner
has initiated the request, use Form VII to accept such an offer. Copies of
Form VIII should be sent to the warden, the prisoner, the other
jurisdictions in your state listed in the offer of temporary custody, and
the Agreement Administrator of the state which has the prisoner
incarcerated. Copy should be retained by the person filing the acceptance
and the judge who signs it.
—————————————————————————-

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PROSECUTOR’S ACCEPTANCE OF TEMPORARY CUSTODY OFFERED IN CONNECTION WITH
ANOTHER PROSECUTOR’S REQUEST FOR DISPOSITION OF A DETAINER.

TO: ___________________________________ __________________________________
(Warden, Superintendent, Director) (Institution)
____________________________________________________________________________
(Address)
According to your letter of _________, _______________________________
(Date) (Name of Prisoner)
_____________________________________ is being returned to this state at the
request of ___________________ of __________________________________________
(Title of Prosecuting Officer) (Jurisdiction)
I hereby accept your offer of temporary custody of ________________________
(Name of Prisoner)
who is under indictment, information or complaint in the __________________
(Jurisdiction)
_____________ of which I am the ___________________________________________
(Title of Prosecuting Off
I plan to bring this person to trial on said indictment, information or
complaint within the time specified in Article IV(c) of the Agreement on
Detainers.

COMMENTS: [Use the space below to make inquiry as to order in which your
jurisdiction will receive custody or to inform the warden of arrangements
you have already made with other jurisdictions in your state in this
regard.] Signed: _________________________________________
Title: __________________________________________

I hereby certify that the person whose signature appears above is an
appropriate officer within the meaning of Article IV(a) and that the facts
recited in this request for temporary custody are correct and that having
duly recorded said request I hereby transmit it for action in accordance
with its terms and the provisions of the Agreement on Detainers.

DATED: _____________________ Signed: ________________________________
(Judge)
_______________________________
(Court)

McAULIFFE, Judge, concurring.

Laster’s contention is that Howard County was required to begin his trial within 120 days of his arrival in this State. He is wrong because he requested trial in Howard County[1]

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and thus triggered the 180-day limitation of Article III. He was tried within 180 days of delivery of his demand to a prosecutor in this State, and his conviction is properly affirmed.

I write separately to explain my concern with the majority’s dictum regarding the effect of an Article IV request by a prosecutor. The majority states that when a prosecutor files a request for temporary custody, each jurisdiction in the receiving state that has lodged a detainer is bound to bring the prisoner to trial within the time specified by Article IV. 313 Md. at 559, 546 A.2d at 478. I have serious doubts about the accuracy of that dictum, and I believe it to be in direct conflict with our opinion in Boyd v. State, 294 Md. 103, 447 A.2d 871 (1982), adopting the opinion of the Court of Special Appeals, Boyd v. State, 51 Md. App. 197, 441 A.2d 1133 (1982). In Boyd,
detainers were filed by two Maryland counties with the custodial authority in Washington, D.C. The prosecutor in one of the counties filed an Article IV request for custody of the prisoner, tried him, and returned him to the District of Columbia. The second Maryland county then initiated an Article IV request and, over the objection of the prisoner that the “one-trip” requirement of Article IV (Art. 27, § 616E(e)) prevented his second transfer and trial, transported, tried, and convicted him. We held that subsection (e) did not apply because neither the prisoner nor the prosecutor in the second county had requested transfer to that county during the first transfer or trial. 51 Md. App. at 206, 441 A.2d 1133.

The majority opines that because the custodian of the prisoner is required to give notice of an Article IV request to all other prosecutors in the receiving state who have detainers pending, this operates as a request for final disposition and triggers the 120-day time limit for all such jurisdictions. This concept of automatic notice most assuredly

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operates in Article III proceedings, but it does so because of the express language of subsection (d) (Art. 27, § 616D(d)):

Any request for final disposition made by a prisoner pursuant to subsection (a) hereof shall operate as a request for final disposition of all untried indictments, informations or complaints on the basis of which detainers have been lodged against the prisoner from the state to whose prosecuting official the request for final disposition is specifically directed.

No similar language is found in Article IV.

In an appropriate case, where the issue is properly before us and has been fully briefed and argued, we should determine the effect of an Article IV request on other jurisdictions in the receiving state. I believe a strong argument may be made that the “one-trip” requirement of Article IV is entirely consistent with the notice requirement of that article, and where notice is properly given,[2] the several jurisdictions within the receiving state may be required to complete all trials before returning the prisoner. This does not necessarily mean, however, that the 120-day time limit should apply to every jurisdiction in such cases, and that question should await its proper resolution on another day.

MURPHY, C.J., and RODOWSKY, J., join in this concurring opinion.

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