No. 23-1848 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Robert Andrew Wolter

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the District of North Dakota ____________

Submitted: February 15, 2024 Filed: August 13, 2024 ____________ Before BENTON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ GRASZ, Circuit Judge.

Before his conviction for bank robbery, Robert Wolter filed a motion to dismiss his indictment, arguing the government violated his right to a speedy trial under the Speedy Trial Act (STA) and the Sixth Amendment. The district court1

1 The Honorable Daniel M. Traynor, United States District Judge for the District of North Dakota. denied the motion, finding some delays in commencement of the trial were excludable under the STA and no evidence showed the government either negligently or intentionally caused delays. Wolter appeals, challenging the district court’s determination. We affirm.

I. Background

On January 15, 2019, Wolter robbed a bank in Bismarck, North Dakota. Upon entering the bank, Wolter announced, “this is a bank robbery,” and he led the bank’s employees to believe he may be possessing a firearm. Wolter then took approximately $6,800 from the bank and fled. On February 5, 2019, Wolter tried to take a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Ghana, Africa. Because Wolter failed to declare the entire amount of cash in his possession, he was arrested for smuggling bulk cash. On February 21, 2020, those charges were dismissed and Wolter was arrested for bank robbery. On July 23, 2020, Wolter was arraigned in North Dakota for a single count of bank robbery.

After his arraignment, Wolter—with help from counsel—filed several motions to continue the trial, which significantly delayed his trial date. On August 25, 2020, Wolter filed his first motion to continue, which reset his trial date. Wolter moved for continuances again on November 6, 2020, and January 25, 2021, which finally led to the trial date being set for May 25, 2021. With every continuance, Wolter signed an informed consent document recognizing he understood the delays were excluded under the STA.

On April 30, 2021, Wolter—with help from counsel—moved for a psychological evaluation. On the same day, the district court granted the motion. In response, the government moved to amend the order granting a psychological evaluation to allow the Bureau of Prisons to transport Wolter to a nonmedical

-2- facility. 2 This amendment to the original psychological evaluation order was granted on May 18, 2021.

Wolter’s examination period stretched from September 10, 2021, to May 5, 2022, during which time he was transported to and from different facilities to undergo a series of tests. 3 After several requests and motions to continue by Wolter’s counsel, the trial date was set for December 13, 2022. One month before the scheduled trial date, the district court granted Wolter’s motion to represent himself pro se.

Two weeks before trial, Wolter moved pro se to dismiss the indictment claiming his right to a speedy trial was violated under the STA and the Sixth Amendment because of the lengthy delays. On December 12, 2022, the district court denied the motion to dismiss. Specifically, the district court found that, at most, only 31 days of non-excludable time counted toward the STA. In this calculation, the district court counted the da