The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in People v. Adolf on April 12, 2012.
Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act—Actual Notice—Prosecution.
Defendant appealed the judgment of conviction entered after the district court denied his request to dismiss the charges against him under the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act (UMDDA). The judgment was affirmed.
On May 29, 2008, defendant was charged with several drug-related crimes. While awaiting his preliminary hearing, defendant mailed directly to the district court a preprinted form entitled “Motion for Final Disposition” requesting speedy disposition of the charges against him pursuant to the UMDDA. However, the prosecutor did not receive a copy. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to an added count of possession of a controlled substance in exchange for dismissal of the remaining charges.
Defendant contended that the district court erroneously failed to dismiss the charges against him for failure to bring him to trial within 180 days of his request for final disposition as required by the UMDDA. However, there is no evidence in the record that the prosecution received notice before July 13, 2009, when defense counsel notified the court. The 180 days began to run on July 13. Defendant pleaded guilty on November 16, 2009—127 days after the prosecution received notice. Therefore, the trial court properly denied dismissal of the charges against defendant and had jurisdiction over defendant to accept his guilty plea.
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