Mayola v. State

344 So. 2d 818, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1497
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Mayola v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 344 So. 2d 818
Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama·Decided March 8, 1977·No. 6 Div. 372·Published

Opinion

BOWEN, Judge.

In November of 1962, Michael Anthony Mayóla, the appellant, was convicted of the first-degree murder of an eleven year old child. He was sentence to life imprisonment. No appeal was taken from that conviction for which the maximum penalty was death.

On April 3,1973, the appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of error coram nobis, which he subsequently amended, and which, as amended, was heard and denied. This denial was appealed and this court in Mayola v. State, 57 Ala.App. 137, 326 So.2d 665 (1976) affirmed the ruling of the lower court.

Mayóla subsequently filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. On April 2, 1976, this petition was denied because the appellant had failed to exhaust his state remedies regarding his claims of (a) the introduction of inadmissible evidence, (b) improper jury selection, and (c) prejudicial pretrial publicity.

On April 12, 1976, the appellant filed a second petition for writ of error coram no-bis with the Circuit Court of Blount County. In this second petition, the appellant allegedly and admittedly sought to present those issues to which the state remedy had not been exhausted under the federal court order. After a full hearing on the merits of that petition, it was denied. This appeal is taken from the lower court’s order denying the appellant’s second petition for a writ of coram nobis. As an indigent, the appellant was afforded counsel on the hearing of each coram nobis petition, a free transcript in each case and counsel on each appeal.

Four issues are presented for review. The appellant urges that the following failures of the lower court were error: The failure of the lower court (1) to furnish the appellant with a copy of his trial transcript, [820]*820(2) to grant the appellant’s request for a change of venue based on pretrial publicity, (3) to grant his petition for writ of error coram nobis because illegally obtained evidence was admitted at trial, and (4) because the appellant alleges he was not represented by counsel at his. arraignment.

The facts of the crime surrounding the kidnapping and murder of the deceased youth are repulsive and shocking. However, they are not material for purposes of this appeal. Therefore, the relevant facts and testimony will be discussed as material to each issue.

I

The appellant asserts that the lower court erred in denying his request for a copy of his original trial transcript without a showing that (1) the transcript was no longer available and (2) that the state was in no way responsible for its unavailability.

From the testimony given in this second coram nobis hearing it affirmatively appears that, contrary to the appellant’s assertions, he was informed by his trial attorneys of his right to appeal and that he knowingly and intelligently waived this right. The appellant has given no credible reason for his delay in raising any issue surrounding his conviction and in appealing his case.

Under Alabama law (Act 525, approved September 16, 1963, Acts of 1963, page 1129; see Code 1940, Recompiled 1958, Title 15, § 380(14) et seq.) a court cannot order a free transcript until an appeal has been taken. There is no provision under the law of this state for furnishing a transcript of the evidence of a conviction, which has never been appealed, on a post-appeal review. Holden v. State, 47 Ala.App. 164, 251 So.2d 782 (1971); Keeton v. State, 278 Ala. 81, 175 So.2d 774 (1965); Allison v. State, 273 Ala. 223, 137 So.2d 761, cert. denied, 369 U.S. 856, 82 S.Ct. 946, 8 L.Ed.2d 15 (1962); Butler v. State, 279 Ala. 311, 184 So.2d 823 (1966).

We recognize the rule established in Griffin v. People of State of Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed. 891 (1956); Eskridge v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed.2d 1269 (1958); and Draper v. State of Washington, 372 U.S. 487, 83 S.Ct. 774, 9 L.Ed. 899 (1963) and extended by Lane v. Brown, 372 U.S. 477, 83 S.Ct. 768, 9 L.Ed.2d 892 (1963); Burns v. State of Ohio, 360 U.S. 252, 79 S.Ct. 1164, 3 L.Ed.2d 1209 (1957); Smith v. Bennett, 365 U.S. 708, 81 S.Ct. 895, 6 L.Ed.2d 39 (1961) and Norvell v. State of Illinois, 373 U.S. 420, 83 S.Ct. 1366, 10 L.Ed.2d 456 (1963) that the right to a free transcript is not limited to direct appeals from criminal convictions, but extends alike to state post conviction proceedings, even though the state has already provided one review on the merits. Indeed Act 525 was enacted in response to the constitutional mandate set forth in Griffin, supra. Ex parte Hable, 278 Ala. 11, 174 So.2d 689 (1965); Ex parte Vann, 44 Ala.App. 404, 210 So.2d 850 (1968).

Here when a request was made for the trial transcript, fourteen years had elapsed. The lower court judge stated that “the transcript is not available I’m informed. Now, if it were available, I would make it available to you.”

The appellant was represented by counsel at his trial and that counsel was fully prepared, as the record so indicates, to protect his rights on appeal. Here the appellant specifically waived those rights and cannot now be heard to complain.

The attorney for the appellant has represented to this court that diligent efforts have been made to obtain the trial transcript or the court reporter’s notes without success. The appellant did not take an appeal from his conviction nor did he give any indication to the trial court that he desired a transcript of his trial prepared. Since no evidence has been adduced indicating intentional state action designed to discriminate against the appellant, his contention that he was denied due process because the state failed to prepare a transcript of his trial is without merit and must fail. See: McGarrity v. Beto (S.D.Tex.1971) 335 [821]*821F.Supp. 1186 and cases cited at 1189. Although it would be an invidious discrimination for the state to make available a transcript to those who could afford them, yet deny them to those who were indigent, the failure of the state to provide them because they simply do not exist does not arise to the magnitude of a constitutional violation. Yates v. Wellman (E.D.Ky.1974) 373 F.Supp. 437 and cases cited at 439.

II

The appellant also contends that the lower court erred in not granting his petition for writ of error coram nobis on the ground that adverse and sensational publicity denied him the right to a fair trial.

From the evidence before us it appears that a motion for change of venue was not filed in the trial court although the trial judge and the appellant’s attorneys discussed it. A motion for a continuance on the ground of pretrial publicity was made but was denied.

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

Mayola v. State, 344 So. 2d 818, 1977 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1497 (Ala. Ct. App. 1977).

344 So. 2d 818 (Mayola v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Griffin v. Illinois
351 U.S. 12 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Burns v. Ohio
360 U.S. 252 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Smith v. Bennett
365 U.S. 708 (Supreme Court, 1961)
Lane v. Brown
372 U.S. 477 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Draper v. Washington
372 U.S. 487 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Norvell v. Illinois
373 U.S. 420 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Reiley v. Atlas Construction Company
146 So. 2d 211 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1962)
Slaughter v. State
259 So. 2d 840 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1972)
Keeton v. State
175 So. 2d 774 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1965)
Beddow v. State
96 So. 2d 175 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1956)
Cooper v. Wiman
145 So. 2d 216 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1962)
MacK v. State
288 So. 2d 150 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1974)
Mathis v. State
189 So. 2d 564 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1966)
McGarrity v. Beto
335 F. Supp. 1186 (S.D. Texas, 1971)
Hurst v. State
307 So. 2d 73 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1975)
Hurst v. State
307 So. 2d 62 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1974)
Seagroves v. State
301 So. 2d 245 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1974)
Edwards v. State
286 So. 2d 308 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1973)