William L. Burnett appeals the circuit court’s summary denial of his Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., petition for postconviction relief. The petition challenged his June 5, 2001, convictions for five counts of first-degree robbery, a violation of § 13A-8-41(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. Burnett was sentenced on count 3 and count 5 to consecutive life sentences, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment on count 1, count 2, and count 4, to run concurrent with count 3. Burnett did not file a direct appeal of his convictions.
On May 17, 2013, the State filed a motion to dismiss Burnett’s petition, arguing that Burnett’s convictions do not violate the principles of the Double Jeopardy Clause because Alabama law allows for multiple convictions when more than one person is injured as the result of a single act and because Burnett admits that he stole from multiple victims. The State also contended that Burnett’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel was barred as successive, was time-barred, and was mer-itless.
Following a response from Burnett, the circuit court denied Burnett’s petition, finding that Burnett’s allegation that his convictions violated his rights against double jeopardy was meritless because Burnett' admits that he stole from four individual victims in the store and from the business that he robbed and that, thus, because Alabama law clearly permits multiple punishments arising from multiple statutory offenses occurring out of the same course of events, it was proper for him to be charged with, convicted of, and sentenced for five separate counts of robbery. Additionally, the court found that Burnett’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim was meritless because he failed to show that there was a reasonable probability that, but for his counsel’s error in failing to advise him of the potential double-jeopardy issue, he would not have pleaded guilty. The court also stated that Burnett’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim failed to meet the requirements of Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., because his claim was a bare allegation without specific factual support.
On appeal, Burnett reiterates the claims raised in his petition and argues that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying his petition. We first note that a circuit court may summarily deny a petitioner’s Rule 32 petition pursuant to Rule 32.7(d), Ala. R.Crim. P.,
“[i]f the court determines that the petition is not sufficiently specific, or is precluded, or fails to state a claim, or that no material issue of fact or law exists which would entitle the petitioner to relief under this rule and that no purpose would be served by any further proceedings, the court may either dismiss the petition or grant leave to file an amended petition.”
See also Hannon v. State,
Burnett contends that his counsel was ineffective for advising him to plead guilty despite, he says, his counsel’s knowledge that his convictions were in violation of double-jeopardy principles. To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must ultimately prove that (1) counsel’s performance was deficient and (2) that the deficient performance actually prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington,
Further, as the State properly contended in its motion to dismiss, this claim was also time-barred. A claim alleging ineffective assistance of counsel is not jurisdictional and is subject to the preclu-sionary bars of Rule 32.2, Ala. R.Crim. P. See, e.g., Cogman v. State,
Burnett also claims that his convictions were in violation of the principles of the Double Jeopardy Clause because all five charges arose from the same robbery in which all the individual victims were employees of the business that was robbed, and, thus, he asserts, all the charges arose from one single transaction. This Court has recognized that double-jeopardy principles are not violated when multiple convictions involving multiple victims are obtained from one criminal transaction. See Brooks v. State,
Because Burnett could not be convicted of robbing the same victim of both her property and the business’s property, arising from the same theft, this case is due to be remanded to the circuit court to vacate
Due return shall be made to this Court within 28 days of the issuance of this opinion.
REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.
Notes
. On August 1, 2002, Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., was amended to shorten the limitations period to one year where the time for appeal expired on or after August 1, 2002. Where the time for appeal fell before August 1, 2001, the applicable limitations period remained two years.
