Opinion
M.P. No. 1132.
September 29, 1970.
Dennis Collins, petitioner, pro se.
In the case of Smith v. Hooey, 393 U.S. 374, 89 S.Ct. 575, 21 L.Ed.2d 607, the petitioner was indicted in 1960 on a Texas criminal charge. He was then a prisoner in a federal penitentiary. The Texas Supreme Court denied his mandamus petition requesting a show cause order why the charge should not be dismissed. The United States Supreme Court, on a petition for certiorari, held that the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial may not be dispensed with lightly. It concluded that upon petitioner's demand, Texas had a constitutional duty to make a diligent, good faith effort to bring petitioner before the county court for trial. The state's denial of the mandamus petition was vacated and the case remanded.
In the instant case, petitioner filed with this court a petition for a writ of habeas corpus based on a criminal charge lodged against him in this state. He was convicted and sentenced on a similar charge in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is now incarcerated in a state prison in that sovereignty.
In light of the rationale in Smith v. Hooey, supra, and in view of the clear mandate of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution providing that the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, we deem it to be in the interest of justice to direct the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus forthwith.
Although there is no authority in this state to compel the asylum state to surrender the prisoner because of this state's failure to ratify the agreement on detainers law, the reasons stated are persuasive enough for us to urge strongly that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts honor the action of this court by voluntarily releasing the petitioner for the sole purpose of affording him the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial in this state.