United States v. Leslie Roy Jordan and Ronald Bernard Croft

The sole issue presented in each of these appeals is whether the appellants were tried within the limitations of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seq. (1988). Appellants Leslie Roy Jordan and Ronald Bernard Croft appeal from their convictions for narcotic offenses. The appellants were tried together, and the material facts with respect to the Speedy Trial issue are the same for both.

The appellants were originally charged in a massive indictment with 31 other co-defendants. The indictment was returned June 12, 1986. The Speedy Trial Act commands that a defendant be tried within 70 days of a filing of an indictment or information, or the first appearance before a judge or a magistrate. 18 U.S.C. § 3161 (c)(1). It also contains certain exclusions which toll the running of the 70 days, including a catchall exclusion for the “ends of justice.”

On July 14, 1986, the day of Jordan’s arraignment and a few days after Croft’s, the district court entered a “general order” that the entire 33-defendant case was complex and came within the “ends of justice” exclusion, thereby stopping the speedy trial clock. The district court never indicated when, if ever, the continuance would…