Malone v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 334

Herbert Phillip Malone was convicted by a jury in 1986 of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and theft; sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate 348 years' imprisonment. The conviction and sentence were previously affirmed on direct appeal.
In 2011 Malone, incarcerated in Lincoln County, filed a pro se habeas corpus petition in Lincoln County Circuit Court challenging his extradition from Tennessee and arguing his sentence exceeded the statutory range.
The circuit court dismissed the habeas petition; Malone appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court reviewed whether Malone had shown the conviction or commitment was facially invalid or that the trial court lacked jurisdiction — prerequisites for habeas relief.
The court concluded Malone failed to meet his burden: (1) the sentence-length claim had been previously litigated and rejected, and (2) Malone presented no affidavit or evidence showing an extradition defect that would have deprived the trial court of jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the habeas petition; Malone remains incarcerated.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Malone's sentence (348 years) was illegal/outside statutory range	Malone: sentence exceeds statutory range and is therefore illegal	State: sentence was imposed under habitual-offender law; term-of-years exceeding human lifespan is not per se illegal	Held: Claim precluded by prior appellate adjudication; sentence not facially invalid
Whether flawed extradition from Tennessee deprived Arkansas courts of jurisdiction	Malone: extradition procedure was improper, so Arkansas courts lacked jurisdiction	State: Malone failed to allege identity dispute or provide affidavit/probable-cause showing extradition defect; extradition challenges belong in Tennessee prior to transfer	Held: Malone did not show extradition defect that would void jurisdiction; habeas relief denied

Malone v. State, 292 Ark. 243, 729 S.W.2d 167 (direct appeal affirming convictions)
Malone v. State, 294 Ark. 127, 741 S.W.2d 246 (holding lengthy term-of-years not illegal under Arkansas law)
Young v. Norris, 365 Ark. 219, 226 S.W.3d 797 (habeas petitioner must plead facial invalidity or lack of jurisdiction and support with affidavit/evidence of probable cause)
Davis v. Reed, 316 Ark. 575, 873 S.W.2d 524 (habeas proper only when conviction is facially invalid or court lacked jurisdiction)
Baker v. Norris, 369 Ark. 405, 255 S.W.3d 466 (circuit court subject-matter jurisdiction over criminal matters)