Colston v. Kelley

2019 Ark. 54, 568 S.W.3d 265
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 7, 2019
DocketNo. CV-18-686
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2019 Ark. 54 (Colston v. Kelley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colston v. Kelley, 2019 Ark. 54, 568 S.W.3d 265 (Ark. 2019).

Opinion

JOHN DAN KEMP, Chief Justice

Appellant Curtis Colston appeals the circuit court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101 (Repl. 2016). Colston argues on appeal that there were multiple errors in his trial, there were errors in the Arkansas Court of Appeals' decision in his direct appeal, and this court erred in denying his petition for review. He also contends that the circuit court was wrong to hold that his petition was not timely filed under Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.1 (2016). Because Colston's petition was filed as a petition for writ of habeas corpus, and he stated no ground for relief cognizable in a habeas proceeding, we affirm the order.

I. Background

In 2016, Colston was found guilty by a Miller County Circuit Court jury of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by certain persons and sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate term of 360 months' imprisonment. The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed. Colston v. State , 2017 Ark. App. 282, 523 S.W.3d 363.

II. Grounds for Issuance of the Writ

A writ of habeas corpus is proper when a judgment of conviction is invalid on its face or when a circuit court lacks jurisdiction over the cause. Philyaw v. Kelley , 2015 Ark. 465, 477 S.W.3d 503. Jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear and determine the subject matter in controversy. Baker v. Norris , 369 Ark. 405, 255 S.W.3d 466 (2007). When the trial court has personal jurisdiction over the appellant and also has jurisdiction over the subject matter, the court has authority to render the judgment. Johnson v. State , 298 Ark. 479, 769 S.W.2d 3 (1989).

*267Under our statute, a petitioner for the writ who does not allege his actual innocence and proceed under Act 1780 of 2001 must plead either the facial invalidity of the judgment or the lack of jurisdiction by the trial court and make a showing by affidavit or other evidence of probable cause to believe that he is being illegally detained. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-112-103(a)(1) (Repl. 2016). Unless the petitioner can show that the trial court lacked jurisdiction or that the commitment was invalid on its face, there is no basis for a finding that a writ of habeas corpus should issue. Fields v. Hobbs , 2013 Ark. 416.

III. Standard of Review

A circuit court's decision on a petition for writ of habeas corpus will be upheld unless it is clearly erroneous. Hobbs v. Gordon , 2014 Ark. 225, 434 S.W.3d 364. A decision is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the appellate court, after reviewing the entire evidence, is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Id.

IV. Claims of Trial Error

The issues raised by Colston in his petition concerned the admissibility of evidence and errors in his trial, in the direct appeal, and in this court's denial of his petition for review.1 It is well settled that claims of error in the trial court's rulings on evidentiary questions or in the appellate courts' decisions pertaining to the trial court's rulings are not grounds for a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Such claims do not implicate the facial validity of the judgment or the jurisdiction of the trial court. See Williams v. Kelley , 2017 Ark. 200, 521 S.W.3d 104.

V. Consideration of Habeas Petition under Rule 37.1

While the circuit court was correct when it noted that Colston's petition was untimely if considered as a petition pursuant to Rule 37.1, the circuit court was not the trial court. Colston's petition was filed in Pulaski County only because he was incarcerated in that county. It is axiomatic that any petition for writ of habeas corpus to effect the release of a prisoner is properly addressed to the circuit court in which the prisoner is held in custody, unless the petition is filed pursuant to Act 1780. Gardner v. Kelley , 2018 Ark. 300, 2018 WL 5076670 ; see also Ark. Code Ann. § 16-112-201 (Repl. 2016) (providing that petitions under Act 1780 are brought in the court in which the petitioner's judgment of conviction was entered). In Colston's case, he was convicted in Miller County, and any Rule 37.1 petition he desired to file should have been timely filed in that county where the judgment of conviction was entered.2 Nevertheless, because *268it is abundantly clear that Colston's petition stated no claim for relief that was within the purview of a habeas corpus proceeding, the habeas petition was subject to denial on that basis. This court will affirm the circuit court's decision because it reached the right result, albeit for the wrong reason. Marshall v. State , 2017 Ark. 208, 521 S.W.3d 456.

Affirmed.

Hart, J., dissents.

Josephine Linker Hart, Justice, dissenting.

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Related

Christopher W. Terrell v. State of Arkansas
2021 Ark. App. 179 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2021)

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Bluebook (online)
2019 Ark. 54, 568 S.W.3d 265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colston-v-kelley-ark-2019.