Cite as: 507 U. S. 43 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
the "good-cause continuance" clause of Article III(a) 5—but it seems to us implausible that such a plainly undesirable result was meant to be avoided only by resort to the (largely discretionary) application of that provision. It is more reasonable to think that the receiving State's prosecutors are in no risk of losing their case until they have been informed of the request for trial.
Indications in the text of Article III confirm, in our view, that the receiving State's receipt of the request starts the clock. The most significant is the provision of Article III(b) requiring the warden to forward the prisoner's request and accompanying documents "by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested." The IAD thus provides for documentary evidence of the date on which the request is delivered to the officials of the receiving State, but requires no record of the date on which it is transmitted to the warden (assuming that is to be considered the act of "causing"). That would be peculiar if the latter rather than the former were the critical date. Another textual clue, we think, is the IAD's apparent indifference as to the manner of transmittal to the warden: Article III(b) says only that the request "shall be given or sent by the prisoner to the warden" (emphasis added). A strange nonchalance, if the giving or sending (either one) is to start the 180 days. Petitioner avoids this difficulty by simply positing that it is the warden's receipt, no matter what the manner of giving or sending, that starts the clock—but there is simply no textual
5 Some courts have held that a continuance must be requested and granted before the 180-day period has expired. See, e. g., Dennett v. State, 19 Md. App. 376, 381, 311 A. 2d 437, 440 (1973) (citing Hoss v. State, 266 Md. 136, 143, 292 A. 2d 48, 51 (1972)); Commonwealth v. Fisher, 451 Pa. 102, 106, 301 A. 2d 605, 607 (1973); State v. Patterson, 273 S. C. 361, 363, 256 S. E. 2d 417, 418 (1979). But see, e. g., State v. Lippolis, 107 N. J. Super. 137, 147, 257 A. 2d 705, 711 (App. Div. 1969), rev'd, 55 N. J. 354, 262 A. 2d 203 (1970) (per curiam) (reversing on reasoning of dissent in Appellate Division). We express no view on this point.
51
Page: Index Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007