Keith Doyle v. Sam Law

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Keith E. Doyle, a Montana prisoner, appeals from the denial of habeas relief with respect to his claim that the passage of 609 days, or roughly 20 months, between his arrest and the commencement of trial violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial as articulated in Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 92 S.Ct. 2182 , 33 L.Ed.2d 101 (1972). Although respondents argue that the state court’s decision is entitled to deference under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , the district court did not err in finding that, even without such deference, Doyle failed to establish a violation of his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. We affirm.

Doyle was charged, along with Dean Maestas and Cheren Day, with deliberate homicide, or in the alternative, deliberate homicide by accountability, in the beating death of Richard Solwick in Butte, Montana, on March 3, 2003. See Mont.Code Ann. §§ 45-5-102(1), 45-2-302 (2003). Maestas and Day pleaded guilty and testified at Doyle’s trial. Doyle was convicted of deliberate homicide by accountability, and was sentenced to 65 years of imprisonment. Unable to make bail, Doyle was detained…