People v. Butler

Ernest Dwaine Butler was charged with first degree burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459-460, subd. 1) and grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, former subd. 1.) A jury returned a verdict acquitting appellant of the burglary charge, but finding him guilty of grand theft. Appellant appeals from the judgment entered upon this verdict. His sole contention on appeal is that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel when his attorney, who had filed a motion to dismiss for violation of appellant’s right to a speedy trial, later apparently abandoned the matter. We will affirm the judgment, finding that the motion to dismiss would have been denied and that counsel’s failure to pursue the motion, accordingly, did not prejudice appellant’s defense.

Facts

Appellant’s father, Chester Butler, and his father’s wife, Carol Butler, were saving quarters for the honeymoon they had not yet enjoyed. They kept the quarters in a five-gallon water bottle behind the nightstand in their bedroom. By mid-March 1990, the bottle contained $2,080.50 in quarters. Appellant, then in his early 30’s and suffering from a severe drinking problem, had been living with the Butlers over a 4-month period in late…