Goff v. State

2012 Ark. 68, 398 S.W.3d 896, 2012 WL 503878, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 77
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 16, 2012
DocketNo. CR 97-135
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 2012 Ark. 68 (Goff v. State) 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
Goff v. State, 2012 Ark. 68, 398 S.W.3d 896, 2012 WL 503878, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 77 (Ark. 2012).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Iiln 1996, petitioner Belynda F. Goff was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Stephen Goff. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. On direct appeal, this court found no prejudicial error in the guilt-determination portion of the trial. There was error, however, in the sentencing proceeding, and we reversed and remanded for resentenc-ing. Goff v. State, 329 Ark. 513, 953 S.W.2d 38 (1997). On remand, petitioner was again sentenced to life imprisonment. We affirmed. Goff v. State, 341 Ark. 567, 19 S.W.3d 579 (2000).

Now before us.is petitioner’s request to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court to consider a petition for writ of error coram nobis.1 She also mentions, without further elaboration, that she is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus.

LA petition for leave to proceed in the trial court is necessary because the circuit court can entertain a petition for writ of error coram nobis after a judgment has been affirmed on appeal only after we grant permission. Cox v. State, 2011 Ark. 96, 2011 WL 737307 (per curiam); Fudge v. State, 2010 Ark. 426, 2010 WL 4354240; Grant v. State, 2010 Ark. 286, 865 S.W.3d 894 (per curiam) (citing Newman v. State, 2009 Ark. 539, 354 S.W.3d 61); see also Dansby v. State, 343 Ark. 635, 37 S.W.3d 599 (2001) (per curiam).

A writ of error coram nobis is an extraordinarily rare remedy, more known for its denial than its approval. Rayford v. State, 2011 Ark. 86, 2011 WL 693584 (per curiam); Whitham v. State, 2011 Ark. 28, 2011 WL 291873 (per curiam); Fudge, 2010 Ark. 426, 2010 WL 4354240; Barker v. State, 2010 Ark. 354, 373 S.W.3d 865; State v. Larimore, 341 Ark. 397, 17 S.W.3d 87 (2000). The writ is allowed only under compelling circumstances to achieve justice and to address errors of the most fundamental nature. Pitts v. State, 336 Ark. 580, 986 S.W.2d 407 (1999) (per curiam). We have held that a writ of error coram nobis was available to address certain errors that are found in one of four categories: insanity at the time of trial, a coerced guilty plea, material evidence withheld by the prosecutor, or a third-party confession to the crime during the time between conviction and appeal. Pitts, 336 Ark. at 583, 986 S.W.2d at 409. The function of the writ is to secure relief from a judgment rendered while there existed some fact that would have prevented its rendition if it had been known to the circuit court and which, through no negligence or fault of the defendant, was not brought forward before rendition of judgment. Grant, 2010 Ark. 286, 365 S.W.3d 894 (citing Newman, 2009 Ark. 539, 354 S.W.3d 61); see also Sanders v. State, 374 Ark. 70, 285 S.W.3d 630 (2008) (per curiam); Cloird v. State, 357 Ark. 446, 182 S.W.3d 477 (2004). The petitioner has the burden of demonstrating a fundamental error of fact extrinsic to the record. Webb v. State, 2009 Ark. 550, 2009 WL 3681656 (per curiam); Sanders, 374 Ark. 70, 285 S.W.3d 630. Coram-nobis proceedings are attended by a strong | presumption that the judgment of conviction is valid. Gardner v. State, 2011 Ark. 27, 2011 WL 291972 (per curiam); Barker, 2010 Ark. 354, 373 S.W.3d 865; Echols v. State, 360 Ark. 332, 201 S.W.3d 890 (2005); Penn v. State, 282 Ark. 571, 670 S.W.2d 426 (1984) (citing Troglin v. State, 257 Ark. 644, 519 S.W.2d 740 (1975)).

As grounds for issuance of the writ, petitioner contends that her defense at the time of trial was not made aware of three documents that she has recently discovered. The documents are a report by a police dispatcher, Debra Price; a report by a police officer, Jim Resterholz; and the radio log for the early morning of June 12, 1994, compiled by the Carroll County Sheriffs Department. To understand the alleged significance of the documents, it is necessary to summarize that part of the record concerning the morning that the victim was found dead.

The record reflects that petitioner and her husband had had marital problems for some time prior to his death. Petitioner believed that her husband had affairs with at least two women. A friend of petitioner testified that petitioner had said about one year before Stephen Goff was killed that petitioner would “bash his head in” the next time that he was unfaithful. At the time of his death, petitioner testified that she was suspicious of her husband’s behavior.

On the evening of June 11, 1994, petitioner, Stephen Goff, and their three-year-old son were at home in their apartment. Several hours before Goff was killed, he left the couple’s apartment for a pack of cigarettes. Petitioner testified that, after her husband left, she went to bed and heard no unusual noises during the night. An upstairs neighbor, however, testified that at around 2 a.m. on June 12, she heard three knocks on petitioner’s .door and the sound of the door opening. One to two minutes later, the neighbor heard five or six loud “bangings,” as if someone were banging a broomstick against the ceiling. The doctor who performed the autopsy |4on Goff testified that the condition of his body was consistent with his having been beaten to death around 2 a.m. on June 12.

Petitioner testified that' she slept through the night, with the exception of hearing a door shut at some time during the night, until awakened by her alarm at about 4:30 a.m. When she arose, she found her husband’s body and called- the emergency number, which was answered by Mark Forsee, an emergency medical technician at the Carroll Regional Medical Center. Forsee testified that he remained on the telephone with petitioner for nine minutes while the ambulance was en route to the apartment. In the conversation, petitioner told Forsee that there was blood everywhere and that it was her husband’s. While she .repeatedly declined Forsee’s suggestion to turn on the lights in the room, she did not exhibit any concern or fear that the police might be needed or that an intruder might still be in the apartment. Jay Thomas, the first paramedic on the scene, testified that he could only open the door to the apartment about six inches because Goffs body was lying against the front door, which was the only door to the apartment. Petitioner and her son were only able to leave the apartment after the door was forced opened about eight inches. The police officer who investigated the scene testified that there was massive blood loss from the victim and pieces of his skull were found around the room. There was no sign of forced entry to the door and no signs of a struggle. Police officers found blood consistent with Stephen Goffs DNA in the bathtub drain. The bathtub, shower curtain, toilet plunger, and a sponge were wet. In addition, four extremely-wet towels and a washcloth and ten damp towels were found in the master bedroom under a pile of dry, dirty clothes.

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Bluebook (online)
2012 Ark. 68, 398 S.W.3d 896, 2012 WL 503878, 2012 Ark. LEXIS 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goff-v-state-ark-2012.