On August 3, 2010, Elliott Hill was indicted for distribution of methamphetamine, an offense that the indictment alleged had occurred nearly four years earlier, on October 3, 2006. Subsequently, Hill was arrested for that offense. He moved to dismiss his indictment for “pre-indictment and prosecution delay,” citing the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and citing Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. XI. The trial court denied Hill’s motion on March 28, 2011, and Hill appeals. Two types of pre-trial delay have been recognized as possible violations of an accused’s constitutional rights: delay that precedes the arrest or the indictment, which may violate due process guarantees under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, Jones v. State , 284 Ga. 320 1 667 SE2d 49 2008; and delay that occurs after an arrest or indictment, which may violate the right to a speedy trial guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, id. at 322 2, and by the Georgia Constitution. See generally Ruffin v. State , 284 Ga. 52, 54 2 663 SE2d 189 2008 the Georgia Constitution’s speedy trial right is coextensive with the guarantee set forth in the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. As detailed below, Hill has not shown that either type of delay violated his constitutional rights in this case because he has not demonstrated actual prejudice from the pre-indictment delay and because he has not shown that the seven-month delay following his indictment was presumptively prejudicial. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s denial of his motion to dismiss.
1. To prevail on his claim that the delay between the time of the alleged offense and the time of his indictment violated his due process rights, Hill must prove “1 that the delay caused actual prejudice to his defense, and 2 that the delay was the result of deliberate prosecutorial action to give the State a tactical advantage.” Citation omitted. Bunn v. State , 284 Ga. 410, 411 1 667 SE2d 605 2008. Dismissal is unauthorized unless Hill shows both of these elements. Jones , 284 Ga. at 322 1.
