Ruffin v. State

Anderson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Appellant, Daniel Ruffin, was tried in the Criminal Court of Baltimore in a court trial by Judge Basil A. Thomas upon a two count indictment charging him with assault with intent to murder Hattie Louise Johnson (first count) and common law assault upon her (second count). He was found not guilty on the first count and guilty on the second count and was sentenced to five years under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correctional Services. Appellant presents two questions on appeal, namely: 1) Was appellant denied a speedy trial ? 2) Did the lower court err in finding the appellant guilty of common law assault?

I Appellant first contends that he was denied a speedy trial. Appellant was indicted on September 6, 1968. On November 6, 1968, appellant’s counsel filed a motion for a speedy trial and trial was set for November 21, 1968. At that time the State moved for, and was granted, a postponement because the victim and prosecuting witness, Hattie Louise Johnson, was in the hospital.

The trial was reset for December 17, 1968, and was again postponed at the State’s request because Miss Johnson was still in the hospital. The trial was reset for February 25, 1969, on ¹⁰⁴ which date Judge Thomas heard the motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of a speedy trial and denied the motion. Following denial of the motion, the trial itself was held on that date before Judge Thomas, sitting as a jury. We find no merit to appellant’s contention that he was denied a speedy trial.

It was manifestly impossible for the State to try the case before that date because of the physical condition of the victim and prosecuting witness, Hattie Louise Johnson, who was hospitalized from the date she was shot, July 14, 1968, until August 20, 1968, and again from November 15, 1968, through February 13, 1969. Trial was held on February 25, 1969. From the date of the indictment until the date of trial was approximately five and one-half months. Here the length of the delay was not unreasonable, the reason for the delay was apparent and the appellant has shown no prejudice.

See Stevenson and Borum v. State, 4 Md. App. 1 ; Johnson v. State, 4 Md. App. 648 ; Hall v. State, 3 Md. App. 680 . II Appellant next contends that he should have been found not guilty of assault upon Hattie Louise Johnson, an innocent third party, as he was acting in self-defense at the time she was shot. The testimony as shown by the record reveals that on the evening of July 14, 1968, the victim, Hattie Louise Johnson, then age 13, accompanied by several1 young friends, among whom was a girl named Barnie, were at a playground at 770 W. Saratoga Street in Baltimore. Another girl named Denise entered the playground and an argument ensued between Denise and Barnie which resulted in a fight.

After the fight had been broken up, Denise picked up a piece of glass and threw it at Barnie. Instead of hitting Barnie, the glass struck the appellant, Daniel Ruffin, on the arm. The appellant, age 18, then took off his coat and struck Denise in the eye with his fist. About this time Denise’s mother, accompanied by a cousin, Kenneth Branahan, also known as “Shorty”, arrived at the playground.

Shorty was accompanied by two ¹⁰⁵ friends who were on leave from