William Antonio Avery v. State of Mississippi, 179 So. 3d 1182

Avery was indicted for sale of a controlled substance within 1,500 feet of a church and possession with intent to distribute; motions to dismiss and to suppress (photo ID and warrantless search/arrest) were litigated and denied after a hearing.
Law enforcement used a confidential informant in a controlled buy; Avery was arrested without a warrant immediately after the buy; two marked $20 bills were found on him.
Avery entered an Alford (best-interest) plea to the sale charge in 2009, received a mostly suspended sentence with short jail time and post-release supervision; related charges were nolle prossed and prior probation was to remain intact.
PRS was later revoked after new convictions and the suspended portion of the sentence was imposed; Avery filed his first PCR in 2011, which was denied and affirmed by this Court; certiorari denied by the Mississippi Supreme Court.
In 2014 Avery filed a second PCR alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for advising the Alford plea despite an illegal arrest; the trial court summarily dismissed the motion and this appeal followed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Avery received ineffective assistance of counsel in advising an Alford plea because counsel failed to recognize an illegal warrantless arrest	Avery: counsel should have known arrest was illegal and therefore should not have advised plea; he would have gone to trial	State: claim is time-barred and successive; counsel moved to suppress and reasonably advised plea given risks; no proof counsel was objectively deficient or prejudice shown	Denied — claim is time-barred and successive-writ barred; merits fail under Strickland; summary dismissal affirmed

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970) (permits guilty plea entered to avoid harsher penalty while maintaining claim of innocence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance: performance and prejudice)
Rowland v. State, 42 So. 3d 503 (Miss. 2010) (standard of review for PCR denials and discussion of procedural bars)
Smith v. State, 149 So. 3d 1027 (Miss. 2014) (addresses effect of res judicata and whether fundamental rights can overcome procedural bars)
Jones v. State, 841 So. 2d 115 (Miss. 2003) (officer may arrest without warrant when reasonable grounds exist that felony was committed)
Hannah v. State, 943 So. 2d 20 (Miss. 2006) (applying Strickland in guilty-plea context; movant must show would have insisted on trial and different outcome)