Brown v. State

429 So. 2d 674, 1983 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 4237
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMarch 29, 1983
Docket1 Div. 462
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 429 So. 2d 674 (Brown v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. State, 429 So. 2d 674, 1983 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 4237 (Ala. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

LEIGH M. CLARK, Retired Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment rendered on August 5, 1982, that recites in pertinent part:

“This day in open court came the State of Alabama by its District Attorney and the Petitioner in his own proper person and with his attorney, John Bertolotti, and the Petition For Writ of Habeas Corpus filed June 29th, 1982, by Petitioner's Attorney, coming on to be heard and being argued by Counsel and being understood by the Court; It is ordered and adjudged by the Court that the Petition For Writ of Habeas Corpus filed June 29th, 1982, by Petitioner’s Attorney, be and the same is hereby denied.”

[675]*675The petition is styled “Calvin E. Brown, (110869) Petitioner, vs. Joe S. Hopper, Commissioner, Alabama Board of Corrections, Respondent” and is captioned “Petition For Writ Of Habeas Corpus.” The petition is purportedly a pro se petition in clearly legible printed handwriting, was executed by petitioner while imprisoned at Holman Prison, on June 27, 1982. It was filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Mobile County on June 29, 1982. On July 30, 1982, the attorney named above, who represented petitioner on the hearing and now represents him on appeal, has filed a brief, in which he states:

“Although Defendant’s Petition was labeled as a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (R. 1), the trial court properly treated the Petition as one for Writ of Error Coram Nobis. Johnson v. Williams, 244 Ala. 891, 13 So.2d 683 (1943). The court proceeded to hear the evidence and denied the petition on its merits. At a coram nobis hearing, the burden of proof is on the Petitioner, Lewis v. State, 367 So.2d 542 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 367 So.2d 547 (1978), and he must satisfy the court of the probability of the truth of his allegations. Ex Parte Taylor, 249 Ala. 667, 32 So.2d 659, aff’d, 335 U.S. 252 [68 S.Ct. 1415, 92 L.Ed. 1935] (1947).
“Petitioner’s allegations in this case are similar to those made in Heflin v. State, 278 Ala. 106, 176 So.2d 37 (1965), and Ex Parte Arrington, 254 Ala. 92, 47 So.2d 269 (1950). Defendant’s contentions about his appointed attorney’s inadequate representation were supported only by his own testimony, and were contradicted by the testimony of the other two witnesses who testified. The judge decided that the Petitioner had not met his burden of proof. The judge’s decision is supported by the record and by Heflin and Arring-ton.”

The appellant has filed a six-page handwritten, readily legible pro se brief in which he raises many questions and cites a large number of cases, some from United States Supreme Court. It appears that he has served appellee’s counsel with a copy of his pro se brief, but there is no indication that he served a copy thereof on his own appointed counsel.

No writ of habeas corpus was ever issued, and, therefore, no return thereon was ever made or required.

According to the transcript of the proceedings, on August 6, 1982, with the petitioner, his appointed attorney, and an assistant district attorney present in court, the hearing was commenced as follows:

“THE COURT: All right for the record, this is the case of the State of Alabama v. Calvin Lewis Brown, case No. CC-79-1645. In this particular case on December 6,1979, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, and I sentenced the defendant to Life in prison. Since that time, the Criminal Court of Appeals affirmed that conviction and sentence on June 17, 1980. Since that time, there was a Petition for Transcript filed by the defendant pro se which I denied. And now this Petition for Habeas Corpus filed by the defendant himself, and I appointed Mr. John Berto-lotti to represent him on this Petition for Habeas Corpus. I have no idea who prepared this eight pages, ninety-nine percent of which is absolutely — has no bearing at all, but I brought the defendant back from the penitentiary for this hearing, because the defendant alleged in here, among other things, ‘Incompetent counsel.’ I have also had the attorney present today for this hearing. Are your ready Mr. Bertolotti?
“MR. BERTOLOTTI: We are ready to proceed.
“THE COURT: Those who are going to testify stand and raise your right hand.
“(WITNESSES SWORN)
“MR. COPELAND [Assistant District Attorney who represented the State on the trial of the case that resulted in petitioner’s conviction and imprisonment]: Your Honor, if it might be possible to take me out of order. I’ve got to take Dr. Red-dick’s deposition in twenty-five minutes.
“THE COURT: Go ahead. Sure.
[676]*676“MR. BERTOLOTTI: I hadn’t even planned to call Lloyd [Mr. Copeland] myself.
“MR. HARRISON [Assistant District Attorney]: We are. We have to put something in the record to respond to ineffective assistance. Take the stand please.”

Thereupon, Mr. Copeland testified briefly as to the trial in which defendant was convicted and was excused. Thereafter, there was testimony by the petitioner and by the attorney representing petitioner on the trial that resulted in his conviction. The following is the concluding portion of the transcript of the hearing:

“MR. BERTOLOTTI: No further questions.
“THE COURT: Writ of Habeas Corpus is denied.
“PETITIONER: Judge, Your Honor, I’d like to appeal that.
“THE COURT: Certainly.”

Although we greatly admire the well intended effort of the learned trial judge to take time by the forelock and proceed, with justice to all concerned, to a final determination of a grievance by petitioner that is not redressable by petition for writ of habeas corpus, we seriously doubt his authority to convert a petition for writ of habeas corpus, which the petition in the instant case is, into a petition for writ of error coram nobis, which the petition is not, either in form or in essence. Nor do we agree with counsel for appellant that Johnson v. Williams, 244 Ala. 391, 13 So.2d 683 (1943), authorizes treatment of an out-and-out petition for habeas corpus as a petition for writ of error coram nobis. In the cited case, it was held that appellant’s contention, in addition to his claim for a reversal and remandment of the case for another trial, that he should be permitted to file a petition for writ of error coram nobis was not well taken for the reason that the facts asserted did not warrant relief by a coram nobis proceeding. At the time of the cited case, in order for one to obtain relief by a coram nobis proceeding, he had to first file in the Supreme Court “a petition for leave to file” in the trial court a “petition for writ of error coram nobis.”

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Related

Hiett v. State
642 So. 2d 492 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1993)
Allen v. State
453 So. 2d 770 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
429 So. 2d 674, 1983 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 4237, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-state-alacrimapp-1983.