Ex Parte Hutcherson
Ex parte Larry Eugene HUTCHERSON.
(In re Ex parte State of Alabama (In re State of Alabama v. Larry Eugene Hutcherson)).
Supreme Court of Alabama.
*387 Glenn L. Davidson of Collins, Davidson, L.L.C., Mobile, for petitioner.
William H. Pryor, Jr., atty. gen., and George A. Martin, Jr., asst. atty. gen., for respondent.
PER CURIAM.
Larry Eugene Hutcherson pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to death in 1996. Hutcherson's conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. Hutcherson v. State,
On May 4, 2001, Hutcherson filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., challenging the validity of his conviction and sentence. When the Rule 32 petition was filed, Hutcherson's counsel admitted that it was filed outside the two-year limitations period of Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., because he misunderstood the rule. To invoke the circuit court's jurisdiction to consider the petition, Hutcherson filed a motion for an enlargement of time pursuant to Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P. The State filed a motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that the petition was barred by Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P. The circuit court heard oral argument on the State's motion; it then entered an order stating that it would consider the limitations-period argument at the hearing on the merits of Hutcherson's petition.
The State filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Court of Criminal Appeals, requesting that court to order the circuit court to dismiss Hutcherson's Rule 32 petition. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition and issued the writ. State v. Hutcherson,
Hutcherson's petition is before this Court pursuant to Rule 21(e), Ala. R.App. P., which provides that a decision by a court of appeals on an original petition for a writ of mandamus may be reviewed de novo by this Court. See Ex parte Land,
"[M]andamus is a drastic and extraordinary writ that will be issued only when there is: (1) a clear legal right in the petitioner to the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3) the lack of another adequate *388 remedy; and (4) properly invoked jurisdiction of the court."
Ex parte Horton,
Hutcherson contends that the State's right, pursuant to Rule 32.10, Ala. R.Crim. P., to appeal the final judgment of the circuit court in a Rule 32 proceeding provides the State with an adequate remedy at law by which to challenge the circuit court's denial of the State's motion to dismiss Hutcherson's petition. Therefore, he maintains, the issuance of the writ of mandamus by the Court of Criminal Appeals was improper. We agree. "The fact that a statute of limitations defense is applicable is not a proper basis for issuing a writ of mandamus, due to the availability of a remedy by appeal. See, e.g., Ex parte Temporary Placement Services,
Accordingly, we grant Hutcherson's petition and issue the writ. The Court of Criminal Appeals is directed to vacate its order directing the circuit court to dismiss Hutcherson's petition.
PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED.
MOORE, C.J., and HOUSTON, SEE, LYONS, HARWOOD, and WOODALL, JJ., concur.
JOHNSTONE, J., concurs specially.
BROWN and STUART, JJ., dissent.
JOHNSTONE, Justice (concurring specially).
I concur. I add some observations of my own.
Hutcherson has moved the trial court for a Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., extension to accommodate the filing of the Rule 32 petition after the expiration of the two years prescribed by Rule 32.2(c). This issue is still pending before the trial court. The Alabama Supreme Court has never held that such an extension cannot be granted. Likewise, the Alabama Supreme Court has never held that the Rule 32.2(c) two-year deadline is jurisdictional.
The Court of Criminal Appeals specifically holds, in Siebert v. State,
Hutcherson has clearly articulated his claim of "excusable neglect" to warrant a Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., extension of the two-year deadline for filing his Rule 32 petition, and he has offered proof for consideration by the trial court. Hutcherson's Rule 32 counsel has candidly admitted his own mistake of law in interpreting Rule *389 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., and Rule 41(b), Ala. R.App. P., for the deadline. Hutcherson himself is not learned in the law. He may not be bound by the errors of his counsel. See Strickland v. Washington,
STUART, Justice (dissenting).
Because I believe the Court of Criminal Appeals was correct, in part, in issuing the writ of mandamus, I dissent.
The Court of Criminal Appeals held that a writ of mandamus provided an appropriate vehicle for relief because, it reasoned, the State had a clear legal right to the writ and the State's right to appeal was not an adequate remedy to prevent undue injury. To support its conclusion, the Court of Criminal Appeals noted:
1. A hearing on the merits of Hutcherson's Rule 32 petition at the circuit court level, when the circuit court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the petition because of the mandatory two-year limitations period, would cost the state "great time, resources, money, and inconvenience"847 So.2d at 381 ; and
2. A determination on the merits of the petition might provide Hutcherson with the opportunity to pursue the merits of subsequent federal challenges to his conviction and sentence unless "`"the last state court rendering a judgment in the case `"clearly and expressly"' states that its judgment rests on a procedural bar."'"847 So.2d at 381 , quoting Mullins v. State,555 So.2d 1156 , 1158 (Ala.Crim.App.1989), quoting other cases.
The Court of Criminal Appeals determined that a petition for a writ of mandamus was the appropriate vehicle by which the State could seek relief from the circuit court's refusal to rule on its motion to dismiss Hutcherson's petition. The State alleged that the circuit court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear the petition because it was untimely filed. Relying on our holdings in Ex parte Spears,
Initially, I note that while a Rule 32 proceeding for postconviction relief is considered to be civil in nature, see Mayes v. State,
Ex parte Southland Bank and the other cases relying on the availability of an appeal as an adequate remedy cite Ex parte Temporary Placement Services,
The caselaw applicable to Rule 32 petitions and proceedings, however, permit a determination by the circuit court on whether a clear legal right to a dismissal is established based on the mandatory application of the two-year limitations period provided in Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., and the impact of a filing beyond the two-year limitations period on the circuit court's jurisdiction. Consequently, review by mandamus of such an issue in a Rule 32 proceeding is appropriate. Recognizing the holdings in Williams v. State,
In Williams v. State,
"Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., provides, in pertinent part:
"`[T]he court shall not entertain any petition for relief from a conviction or sentence on the grounds specified in *391 Rule 32.1(a) and (f), unless the petition is filed: (1) In the case of a conviction appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, within two (2) years after the issuance of the certificate of judgment by the Court of Criminal Appeals under Rule 41, [Ala.] R.App. P....'
"(Emphasis added.) The State did not file a motion to dismiss asserting that the limitations period applied. However, in Siebert v. State,
"`Siebert argues on appeal that his petition should not be barred by the two-year limitations period in Rule 32.2(c) for the following reasons:
"`. . . .
"`2. The State waived this affirmative defense by failing to raise it in its first responsive pleading.
"`. . . .
"`Claim 2, asserting that Rule 32.2(c) must be raised as an affirmative defense in the first responsive pleading or it is waived, is without merit....
"`. . . .
"`... [N]otwithstanding the requirement of Rule 32.3 that the State "shall have the burden of pleading any ground of preclusion," this court has repeatedly stated that "[w]here a simple reading of a petition for post-conviction relief shows that, assuming the allegations of the petition to be true, it is obviously without merit or is precluded, the trial court may summarily dismiss the petition without requiring any response from the state." Burton v. State,728 So.2d 1142 , 1148 (Ala.Cr. App.1998) (citing Bishop v. State,608 So.2d 345 (Ala.1992), and Patty v. State,652 So.2d 337 (Ala.Cr.App. 1994)) (emphasis added). Thus, the trial court could have dismissed the petition on procedural grounds even without any response from the State.'
"Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., establishes a limitations period for filing a petition for post-conviction relief on the grounds specified in Rule 32.1(a) and (f), Ala. R.Crim. P., and its language is mandatory. See Hugh Maddox, Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure § 32.2 (3d ed.1999). `The statute of limitations is a jurisdictional matter.' Hines v. State,
Additionally, I note that there is no ambiguity with regard to the application of Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., in this case. Here, the circuit court cannot, pursuant to Rule 1.3(b),[2] grant Hutcherson's request *392 for an enlargement of time. Without determining whether Rule 1.3(b) is applicable to petitions for postconviction relief, Hutcherson, assuming arguendo that Rule 1.3(b) is applicable, cannot establish excusable neglect. Hutcherson's counsel stated that he missed the filing date because he believed the time ran from the issuance of the certificate of judgment as a result of the United States Supreme Court's ruling. The rules, however, specifically provide that the time runs from the issuance of a certificate of judgment by the Court of Criminal Appeals. See Rule 32.2(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., and Rule 41, Ala. R.App. P.
In Siebert v. State,
"[T]he result reached by the Court of Criminal Appeals in this case is entirely justifiable on the ground that the defendant's Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., petition was filed after the two-year deadline without any proof of an excuse that might warrant an extension of the deadline pursuant to Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P....
"... [T]he Rule 32 petition does not establish any excusable neglect ...."
Ex parte Siebert,
Likewise, in the case before us today, Hutcherson has not provided any proof of an excuse that would warrant an extension pursuant to Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P. While Justice Johnstone's special writing in Ex parte Siebert is not a holding of the Alabama Supreme Court, it does draw into question the viability of any contention that proof of a mere misunderstanding of the rule, especially after the holding by the Court of Criminal Appeals in Siebert, could establish excusable neglect with regard to Hutcherson's present petition. Hutcherson did not establish excusable neglect so as to warrant an extension. Therefore, the State has a clear legal right to a ruling in this case, regardless of the applicability of Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P.
I reject the contention that because this Court has not specifically held that the failure to file a petition within the two-year limitations period is jurisdictional or that Rule 1.3(b) is not applicable to petitions for postconviction relief, the law is unsettled. In accordance with the doctrine of stare decisis, the State, in filing its petition for a writ of mandamus, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, in granting that petition, relied upon the law as it exists today.
I note that the Court of Criminal Appeals' issuance of the writ is not inconsistent with this Court's holding in State v. *393 Zimlich,
"`It is well established in Alabama that a writ of mandamus, which is a drastic and extraordinary remedy, will not issue when there is an adequate remedy by appeal, and that the writ cannot be used as a substitute for appellate review. The reason for this rule was succinctly stated by then Justice Livingston in Koonce v. Arnold,244 Ala. 513 , 514,14 So.2d 512 , [512] (1943):
"`"If the matters complained of can be ultimately presented to the appellate court through the medium of an appeal from the final decree, mandamus will not ordinarily be granted. This for the reason, that appellate courts will not hear causes in piecemeal."'
"Ex parte Fowler,
"... Zimlich asserted that the Court of Criminal Appeals needed to decide whether Rule 15.5(c), Ala. R.Crim. P., applied; whether the tolling statute,§ 15-3-6, Ala.Code 1975 , applied and was superior to Rule 15.5(c); and whether the tolling statute permitted a subsequent indictment to increase the nature of the alleged offense from a misdemeanor to a felony. The uncertainty about the applicability of Rule 15.5(c) and§ 15-3-6 and the question whether the State's error in regard to the first indictment was the kind of `inadvertent technical error' contemplated by Rule 15.5(c) (see Committee Comments to that rule) lead us to conclude that Zimlich had no clear legal right to an order by Judge Kendall dismissing the second indictment as barred by the statute of limitations, given that Zimlich, if improperly convicted, would have had a remedy by appeal."
For the writ to issue, it is incumbent that the State not only have a clear legal right to the relief sought but also that an appeal will not provide an adequate remedy. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that to require the expense and inconvenience of a hearing in a case where the evidence on the circuit court's jurisdiction was uncontroverted would create undue injury. Additionally, the court held that clear, consistent application of procedural bars to claims in light of future federal review of the case was necessary to prevent the State from suffering undue prejudice and injury.
While the expense and inconvenience of a hearing typically do not justify the issuance of a writ of mandamus, in Rule 32 proceedings, where a party shows a clear legal right to a ruling based upon lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of the circuit court, and the party may suffer subsequent *394 prejudice, I believe undue injury occurs and an appeal does not provide adequate relief.
Hutcherson argues that expense is not an appropriate ground for concluding that the State will suffer undue injury. Hutcherson is correct that matters of expense and inconvenience alone do not justify mandamus relief as to an issue that could be reviewed on appeal. Ex parte Spears, supra, and cases cited therein. These cases, however, do not involve the mandatory application of the limitations period that directly impacts the jurisdiction of the circuit court. In a postconviction proceeding where the application of the limitations period is mandatory, requiring the people of the State of Alabama to pay for an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the petition before the circuit court determines whether it has jurisdiction to hear the matter is a waste of judicial time and the people's money.
Additionally, I agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals that the circuit court needs to apply the procedural bars consistently, not only to facilitate State appellate review of these proceedings, but also to prevent the State from being unduly prejudiced during federal review.[3] Defendants have been provided a vehicle for postconviction review; the State, while it does not have the right to deprive a defendant of a federal remedy, has a legitimate interest in seeing that the defendant does not abuse or exploit this opportunity for postconviction review.
As the Court of Criminal Appeals determined, in this case the State has a clear legal right to a ruling on its motion to dismiss; subsequent appellate review after a hearing on the merits of the petition will not provide an adequate remedy. However, I believe the Court of Criminal Appeals exceeded the scope of mandamus relief by reviewing the merits of Hutcherson's Rule 32 petition, concluding that no jurisdictional matters were presented, and directing the circuit court to dismiss the petition. The circuit court, not an appellate court, is responsible for determining initially whether a petition contains jurisdictional claims. The State is entitled to a ruling on its motion to dismiss the petition, but the circuit court must make that ruling.
A petition for the writ of mandamus allows "emergency and immediate appellate review of an order that is otherwise interlocutory and not appealable." Rule 21(e)(4), Ala. R.App. P. In this case the circuit court issued an interlocutory order deferring its ruling on the State's motion to dismiss until after a hearing on the merits of the Rule 32 petition. The State has a clear legal right to a ruling on its motion to dismiss and will suffer undue injury that an appeal will not remedy if the ruling is not issued before a hearing on the merits. The State, however, has not established a right for the appellate court to enter a ruling on the merits of the motion. Therefore, I believe this Court should grant Hutcherson's petition in part and issue a writ directing the Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate its order directing the circuit court to dismiss the petition and to order the circuit court to timely rule on the State's motion to dismiss before it conducts a hearing on the merits of the petition.
NOTES
Notes
[1] Ex parte Campbell,
[2] Rule 1.3(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., states:
"(b) Enlargement. When by these rules or by a notice given thereunder or by order of court an act is required or allowed to be done at or within a specified time, the court for good cause shown may at any time in its discretion (1) with or without motion or notice, order the period enlarged if request therefor is made before the expiration of the period originally prescribed or as extended by a previous order, or (2) upon motion made after the expiration of the specified period, permit the act to be done where the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect, but it may not, except as provided elsewhere in these rules, extend the time for making a motion for new trial, for taking an appeal, or for making a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Rule 20."
[3] See Harris v. Reed,