Jackson v. State

158 So. 3d 484, 2013 WL 4710399, 2013 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 69
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedAugust 30, 2013
DocketCR-12-0668
StatusPublished

This text of 158 So. 3d 484 (Jackson 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
Jackson v. State, 158 So. 3d 484, 2013 WL 4710399, 2013 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 69 (Ala. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

BURKE, Judge.

Roderick Earl Jackson was convicted of trafficking in cocaine, a violation of § 13A-12-231(2)(a), Ala.Code 1975; trafficking in marijuana, a violation of § 13A-12-231(l)(a), Ala.Code 1975; unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a violation of § 13A-12-212, Ala.Code 1975; carrying a pistol without a permit, a violation of § 13A-11-73, Ala.Code 1975; and three counts of failure to affix a tax stamp, a violation of § 40-17A-4, Ala.Code 1975. He was sentenced as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment for each of the drug-trafficking convictions; ten years’ imprisonment for the unlawful-possession-of-a-controlled-substance conviction; 10 years’ imprisonment for each of the failure-to-affix-a-tax-stamp convictions; and 12 months’ imprisonment for the carrying-a-pistol-without-a-permit conviction. The jury also found that Jackson was in possession of a firearm during the commission of the trafficking offenses, a violation of § 13A-12-231(14), Ala.Code 1975. Accordingly, he was sentenced to an additional five years’ imprisonment for each of the trafficking convictions. All of Jackson’s sentences were ordered to run concurrently-

This Court ultimately affirmed Jackson’s convictions in Jackson v. State, 127 So.3d 1251 (Ala.Crim.App.2010). On November 18, 2011, Jackson filed a timely petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., which he amended on June 20, 2012, and August 31, 2012.

Jackson raised numerous issues in his petition and subsequent amendments, including claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Jackson combined many of his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims with other claims in various sections of his petition. For clarity, we will address all of the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims in a separate section of this opinion.

[489]*489In its response and motion to- dismiss the petition, the State denied all of Jackson’s allegations and contended that each of the issues raised in his petition was precluded under Rule 32.2(a)(2)-(5), Ala. R.Crim. P. The State also asserted that Jackson’s petition lacked the specificity required by Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P. The circuit court agreed and summarily dismissed the petition. This appeal follows.

On appeal, Jackson reasserts all of the issues raised in his petition. Jackson also argues that the circuit court abused its discretion by summarily dismissing his petition because, he says, the factual allegations raised in his petition were sufficiently specific and were not precluded.

The same judge who presided over Jackson’s trial also ruled on his Rule 32 petition. “The standard of review on appeal in a post conviction proceeding is whether the trial judge abused his discretion when he denied the petition.” Elliott v. State, 601 So.2d 1118, 1119 (Ala.Crim.App.1992). “ ‘ “ ‘A judge abuses his discretion only when his decision is based on an erroneous conclusion of law or where the record contains no evidence on which he rationally could have based his decision.’ ” ’ ” Hodges v. State, 926 So.2d 1060, 1072 (Ala.Crim.App.2005), quoting State v. Jude, 686 So.2d 528, 530 (Ala.Crim.App.1996) (internal citations omitted). Furthermore, Rule 32.7(d), Ala. R.Crim. P., states that a circuit court may summarily dismiss a petition if “the court determines that the petition is not sufficiently specific, or is'precluded, or fails to state a claim, or that no material issue of fact or law exists which would entitle the petitioner to relief under this rule and that no purpose would be served by any further proceedings....” With these principles in mind, we will now address Jackson’s claims.

I.

First, Jackson claimed that he was denied a fair trial because, he says, the arresting officer lied at the suppression hearing. However, as the circuit court pointed. out in its order dismissing Jackson’s petition, this issue was raised on direct appeal. See Jackson v. State, 127 So.3d at 1254. Accordingly, it is precluded by Rule 32.2(a)(4), Ala. R.Crim. P., which provides that a petitioner is not entitled to relief on a claim that “was raised or addressed on appeal.... ” Therefore, this claim is precluded and the circuit court was correct to summarily dismiss it. See Rule 32.7(d), Ala. R.Crim. P.

II.

Next, Jackson asserted that the prosecutor knowingly used false information during cross-examination and therefore, he argued, rendered his trial unfair. Jackson pointed to an excerpt from his trial testimony in which the State cross-examined him regarding the car he was driving on the day of his arrest.1 According to Jackson, the questions propounded by the State suggested that Jackson transferred ownership of the vehicle to his mother four days after his arrest in an attempt to show the jury “a consciousness of guilt on Jackson’s part.” (C. 75.) Jackson attached a bill of sale and a title application as exhibits to his petition, which purported to show that he gave the vehicle to his mother several days prior to his arrest.

However, Rule 32.2(a)(3), Ala. R.Crim. P., provides that a petitioner is not entitled to relief under Rule 32 “based upon any [490]*490ground ... [w]hich could have been but was not raised at trial, unless the ground for relief arises under Rule 32.1(b)... ,”2 Similarly, Rule 32.2(a)(5), Ala. R.Crim. P., precludes a petitioner from relief on any ground “[w]hich could have been but was not raised on appeal....” This Court has held that claims regarding prosecutorial misconduct are nonjurisdictional and are therefore subject to the preclusionary bars of Rule 32.2, Ala. R.Crim. P. See Sunday v. State, 857 So.2d 166, 169 (Ala.Crim.App.2002)(“[Sunday’s prosecuto-rial-misconduct claim] is precluded because it could have been, but was not, raised at trial or on appeal.”). Accordingly, this claim is precluded by Rules 32.2(a)(3) and (5), Ala. R.Crim. P.

Moreover, Jackson failed to meet the specificity requirement of Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., which provides:

“Each claim in the petition must contain a clear and specific statement of the grounds upon which relief is sought, including full disclosure of the factual basis of those grounds. A bare allegation that a constitutional right has been violated and mere conclusions of law shall not be sufficient to warrant any further proceedings.”

Jackson made the bare allegation that the information suggested by the prosecutor’s questions was “not true and the [Assistant District Attorney] knew this.” (C. 74.) Jackson did not explain how he discovered that the prosecutor knew that the information was untrue nor did he allege that the prosecutor was even aware of the above-mentioned bill of sale and title application. Nothing in Jackson’s petition, aside from his general allegation, demonstrates that the prosecutor knowingly used false information during cross-examination. Accordingly, Jackson failed to meet the .specificity requirement of Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P., and the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by summarily dismissing the claim.

III.

Jackson also claimed that he was denied a fair trial because one of the jurors was an attorney and may have known someone who was employed with the District Attorney’s office. Jackson alleged that there was “a reasonable probability that this juror overbore the will of the other jurors during the deliberations.” (C.

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Bluebook (online)
158 So. 3d 484, 2013 WL 4710399, 2013 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 69, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-state-alacrimapp-2013.