Beverage v. State
2015 Ark. 112
| Ark. | 2015Background
- Christopher Beverage pleaded guilty in 2012 pursuant to a negotiated plea to first-degree murder and multiple other offenses arising from a 2010 escape and related attacks; total effective sentence 600 months.
- Beverage filed a Rule 37.1 postconviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to seek change of venue, challenge competency, challenge sentence, investigate/contest autopsy, pursue trial, and speedy-trial issues).
- The Jefferson County Circuit Court denied the petition without an evidentiary hearing, finding the record showed no prejudice or merit to many claims and noting existing competency evaluations and plea-transcript indications of competence.
- On appeal Beverage argued the court erred by refusing a hearing on two claims: (1) counsel’s failure to obtain an additional competency evaluation or otherwise demonstrate incompetence; and (2) counsel’s failure to investigate the murder victim’s cause of death (autopsy).
- The appellate majority found the record did not conclusively foreclose relief on the competency-related claim because the record contained a competency report with missing pages and a mixed Georgia Court Competency Test result (66/100) and ambiguity in the evaluator’s reasoning; it reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing on that claim.
- The court affirmed denial of relief on the investigation/autopsy claim because Beverage’s petition failed to allege he would have refused the plea and insisted on trial (required to show Strickland prejudice for claims arising from guilty pleas).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether an evidentiary hearing was required on competency-related ineffective-assistance claim | Beverage: counsel failed to obtain/additional evaluation and should have challenged competency; plea may not have been voluntary/intelligent | State: record shows multiple evaluations and plea transcript undermines incompetence claim; Beverage didn’t show but-for prejudice | Remanded for a Rule 37.1 evidentiary hearing as the record contained a competency report with missing pages and ambiguous findings, so relief is not conclusively precluded |
| Whether counsel’s failure to investigate the autopsy warranted a hearing/relief | Beverage: counsel did not consult an expert on cause of death; autopsy equivocal—causation was triable | State: Beverage did not allege he would have rejected the plea and gone to trial; thus no Strickland prejudice | Affirmed: no hearing required because petitioner failed to allege he would have insisted on trial, so prejudice not shown |
| Whether guilty plea limits cognizable Rule 37 claims | Beverage: (implicit) ineffective assistance can be raised under Rule 37.1 | State: only voluntariness/intelligent plea or ineffective assistance claims are cognizable after guilty plea | Confirmed: only voluntariness/intelligence of plea and ineffective assistance claims are cognizable post-plea under Rule 37.1 |
| Standard for deciding if no hearing is required under Rule 37.3 | Beverage: he is entitled to a hearing unless record conclusively shows no relief | State: circuit court applied Rule 37.3 to deny hearing | Applied: Rule 37.3 requires a hearing unless files and records conclusively show no relief; appellate court reviews for clear error |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (sets two-part ineffective-assistance-of-counsel standard: deficient performance and prejudice)
- Sales v. State, 2014 Ark. 384 (Ark. 2014) (appellate standard: do not reverse denial of postconviction relief unless circuit court’s findings are clearly erroneous)
- Scott v. State, 2012 Ark. 199 (Ark. 2012) (after guilty plea, only voluntariness/intelligence of plea and ineffective-assistance claims cognizable under Rule 37.1)
- McDaniels v. State, 2014 Ark. 181 (Ark. 2014) (discussion of Strickland framework and presumption of reasonable professional assistance)