Clyde Campbell v. State of Mississippi

194 So. 3d 204, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 392, 2016 WL 3391584
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 21, 2016
Docket2015-CP-00595-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 194 So. 3d 204 (Clyde Campbell v. State of Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clyde Campbell v. State of Mississippi, 194 So. 3d 204, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 392, 2016 WL 3391584 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CARLTON, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Clyde Campbell appeals the dismissal of his motion for postconvietion relief- (PCR) seéldng relief from his 1974 conviction and sentence. Campbell argues the trial court erroneously found his PCR *206 motion was time-barred. Finding no error, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal.

FACTS

¶ 2. The record reflects that Campbell is currently serving a life sentence as a habitual offender without eligibility for parole or probation. The trial court sentenced Campbell as a habitual offender based upon Campbell’s felony convictions in 1974, 1981, and 1990. Campbell challenges only his 1974 conviction in the present PCR motion.

¶3. On December 4, 1974, Campbell pleaded guilty to assault and battery with intent to kill after he shot a Natchez police officer. The officer died as an indirect result of the injuries he received from being shot by Campbell. The trial court sentenced Campbell to serve five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), but Campbell only served a little more than a year of his sentence. See Campbell v. State (Campbell II), 75 So.3d 1160, 1161 (¶ 3) (Miss.Ct.App.2011).

¶ 4. In 1981, Campbell was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon by a felon. The trial court sentenced Campbell to serve five years in the custody of the MDOC, but Campbell again served a little over a year in prison.

¶ 5. In July of 1990, Campbell was convicted of committing aggravated assault on his girlfriend. He threw gasoline on her, deliberately lit a cigarette lighter, and intentionally caused her to be engulfed in flames. As a result, she suffered serious injuries. The trial court sentenced Campbell as an habitual offender to life in the custody of the MDOC, without eligibility for parole or probation. See Campbell v. State (Campbell I), 704 So.2d 465 (Miss.Ct.App.1997).

¶ 6. On February 4, 2014, Campbell filed a PCR motion. In his motion, Campbell claimed: (1) that his guilty plea for the 1974 assault and battery conviction was not voluntarily or knowingly entered; (2) that his guilty plea was involuntary because he was coerced to plead guilty by his attorney, even though he was actually innocent; (3) that no factual basis existed for his plea; (4) that he was not advised of the mandatory minimum sentence he could receive if convicted; (5) that he was not informed about the right to remain silent and the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses; and (6) that he failed to receive effective assistance from his counsel.

¶ 7. On February 25, 2014, the trial court denied relief and dismissed Campbell’s PCR motion after finding the motion clearly time-barred pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-5(2) (Rev. 2015). The trial court also held that the issues raised by Campbell lacked merit. Campbell now appeals. Finding no error in the trial court’s determination that Campbell’s PCR motion is time-barred, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of Campbell’s PCR motion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 8. “We review the dismissal or denial of a PCR motion for abuse of discretion. We will only reverse if the trial court’s decision is clearly erroneous.” Hughes v. State, 106 So.3d 836, 838 (¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2012). However, we review questions of law de novo. Chaney v. State, 121 So.3d 306, 308 (¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2013).

¶ 9. A trial court may summarily • dismiss a PCR motion without an evidentiary hearing “[i]f it plainly appears from the face of the motion, any annexed exhibits[,] and the prior proceedings in the case that *207 the movant is not entitled to any relief.” Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-11(2) (Rev.2015).

DISCUSSION

¶ 10. In his PCR motion, Campbell argues that he is currently serving an illegal sentence because his plea was not knowingly, voluntarily, or intelligently made; that his counsel coerced him to plead guilty despite Campbell’s innocence; and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel.

¶ 11. In denying Campbell’s PCR motion, the trial court explained 'that Campbell failed to file his motion within the statute of limitations set forth in section 99-39-5(2); as a result, Campbell’s motion was time-barred. The trial court found that Campbell failed to show that any exception to the time-bar applied to his PCR motion. The trial court also held that “notwithstanding this procedural bar, ... [Campbell] is not entitled to any relief on the merits.”

¶ 12. As discussed, the record reflects that Campbell pleaded guilty to assault and battery on December 4, 1974, and was sentenced that same day to serve five years in the custody of the MDOC. He served a little more than a year of that sentence in MDOC custody. Section 99-39-5(2) identifies the time limitations for PCR motions stemming from guilty pleas:

A motion for relief under this article shall be made within three (3) yeará after the time in which the petitioner’s direct appeal is ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Mississippi or, in case no appeal is taken, within three (3) years after the time for taking an appeal from the judgment of conviction or sentence has expired, or in. case of a guilty plea, within three (3) years after entry of the judgment of conviction.

¶ 13. ' In Patterson v. State, 594 So.2d 606, 607 (Miss.1992), the Mississippi Supreme Court explained that the Uniform Postconviction Collateral- Relief Act (UP-CCRA) “applies prospectively from its date of enactment, April 17, 1984.” Accordingly, “[individuals such as [Campbell] who entered a plea of guilty prior to April 17, 1984, have three (3) years from April 17, 1984, to file their [PCR motion].” Id.; see also Odom v. State, 483 So.2d 343, 344 (Miss.1986). Campbell possessed three years from April 17, 1984, to file his PCR motion; however, the record shows that Campbell failed to file a PCR motion regarding his 1974 .conviction and sentence until February 4, 2014. As a result, we find that Campbell’s PCR motion is indeed time-barred.

¶ 14. However, section 99-39-5(2) provides exceptions from the three-year statute of limitations for PCR motions:

Excepted from this three-year statute of limitations are those cases in which the petitioner can demonstrate either:
(a)(i) That there has been an intervening decision of the Supreme Court of either the State of Mississippi or the United States which would have actually adversely affected the outcome of his conviction or sentence or that he has evidence, not reasonably discoverable at the time of trial, which is of such nature that it would be practically conclusive -that had such been introduced at trial it would have caused a different result in the conviction or sentence; or

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
194 So. 3d 204, 2016 Miss. App. LEXIS 392, 2016 WL 3391584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clyde-campbell-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2016.