State v. Malette

In State v. Malette, 350 N.C. 52, 509 S.E.2d 776 (1999), the Court held that N.C. Gen. Stat. 15A-534.1 was applied constitutionally to a defendant who was arrested on 3 December 1995 and did not receive a bond hearing until some time the next day. Id. at 55, 509 S.E.2d at 778. The Court, under a case-by-case analysis, reasoned that "there is no evidence here that the magistrate arbitrarily set a forty-eight-hour limit as in Thompson or that the State did not move expeditiously in bringing defendant before a judge." Id. In State v. Malette, 350 N.C. 52, 509 S.E.2d 776 (1999), the defendant was arrested on 3 December 1995 and was taken before a magistrate on that date. The magistrate ordered that the defendant be held pursuant to section 15A-534.1, and on 4 December 1995, the defendant was taken before a district court judge, who set a secured bond of $ 10,000. On 7 December 1995, the State and defense counsel agreed to a secured bond of $ 1,000 on the condition that the defendant have no contact with the victim. The defendant was then released. When his case was called for trial, the defendant moved to dismiss the charge on constitutional grounds. The trial court granted the defendant's motion, and the State appealed to superior court, which found the statute constitutional and remanded the case for trial. This Court affirmed. Our Supreme Court affirmed this Court's decision, stating the following: In the case sub judice, the record does not indicate that there was unreasonable delay in holding the post-detention hearing. On Sunday, 3 December 1995, defendant was arrested and taken before a magistrate who ordered that he be brought before a judge pursuant to N.C.G.S. 15A-534.1(b) on the very next day, Monday, 4 December 1995. Defendant was in fact brought before District Court Judge Carolyn Johnson on Monday, 4 December 1995, and she set a secured bond of $ 10,000, which subsequently was reduced to $ 1,000. There is no evidence here that the magistrate arbitrarily set a forty-eight-hour limit as in Thompson or that the State did not move expeditiously in bringing defendant before a judge. Id. at 55, 509 S.E.2d at 778.