McCartha v. State

78 So. 3d 1014, 2011 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 41, 2011 WL 1088721
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMarch 25, 2011
DocketCR-09-0461
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 78 So. 3d 1014 (McCartha 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
McCartha v. State, 78 So. 3d 1014, 2011 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 41, 2011 WL 1088721 (Ala. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

KELLUM, Judge.

The appellant, Tony Mark MeCartha, appeals from the circuit court’s denial of his petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 82, Ala. R.Crim. P., in which he challenged his 2004 convictions for first-degree sodomy. This Court affirmed McCartha’s convictions and sentences, by an unpublished memorandum. See MeCartha v. State (No. CR-03-1949), 954 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Crim.App.2005) (table). This Court entered a certificate of judgment on February 10, 2006.

On February 12, 2007, MeCartha filed a Rule 32 petition,1 his first, in the Russell Circuit Court. In his petition, MeCartha claimed that his various attorneys had rendered ineffective assistance before trial, during trial, and on appeal. The record indicates that the circuit court denied McCartha’s petition on August 30, 2007. The circuit court’s order explained:

“The Court finds that the Petition seeking relief from conviction and sentence is barred from further review. [MeCar-tha] was represented at trial by the Hon. Jeremy Armstrong. Both of his convictions were appealed to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and affirmed by the Court. The Hon. Aimee Smith represented [MeCartha] on Appeal. A Petition for writ of certiorari was filed with the Alabama Supreme Court. The Alabama Supreme Court denied this petition. The issue of ineffective assistance was raised on appellate review and decided adversely to [McCartha’s] claim. Any further review of this issue is barred.”

(C. 42.) MeCartha did not appeal from the denial of his first Rule 32 petition.

On June 25, 2009, MeCartha filed the instant Rule 32 petition, his second, in the Russell Circuit Court. In this petition, MeCartha claimed that he did not learn that his prior Rule 32 petition had been denied until May 5, 2009, and he asked the circuit court to grant him an out-of-time appeal from the denial of that petition. MeCartha also pz’esented a new claim of actual innocence in this second Rule 32 petition. The State argued that the petition was meritless, insufficiently pleaded, and precluded pursuant to Rules 32.2(a)(3) and (5) because, it argued, the claims could have been but were not raised at trial, Rule 32.2(b) because, it argued, the petition was successive, and Rule 32.2(c) because, it argued, the petition was untimely.

The circuit court denied McCartha’s petition on the ground that MeCartha was attempting to relitigate issues that had already been decided adversely to him. The circuit court also ordered MeCartha to pay the court costs associated with the filing of his Rule 32 petition. On December 4, 2009, MeCartha filed a motion to alter, amend, or vacate the circuit court’s order in which he attacked the circuit court’s denial of his claim, the order requiring him to pay the filing fees, and the impartiality of the circuit judge presiding over his case. On January 13, 2010, the circuit court denied McCartha’s request to set aside the court costs assessed in his case.

On May 14, 2010, this Court remanded this case for the circuit court to determine whether MeCartha was entitled to an out-of-time appeal from the denial of his first Rule 32 petition. After initially denying McCartha’s request and after a second remand by this Court, the circuit court [1017]*1017granted McCartha’s request for an out-of-time appeal on January 4, 2011.

I.

McCartha claims that he was entitled to an out-of-time appeal from the denial of his first Rule 32 petition. Because the circuit court granted McCartha relief in the form of an out-of-time appeal, this claim is now moot.2

II.

McCartha also claims that the circuit court erred in failing to address his claim that he was actually innocent of the offenses for which he was convicted. In his second Rule 32 petition, McCartha claimed that he was actually innocent, and he attached to his Rule 32 petition various affidavits swearing to his innocence.

The circuit court did not specifically address McCartha’s actual-innocence claim; it simply denied McCartha’s petition in its entirety. As we have often stated, this Court may affirm the judgment of the trial court, if it is correct for any reason. Beckworth v. State, [Ms. CR-07-0051, May 1, 2009] — So.3d-(Ala.Crim.App.2009).

Although couched in terms of actual innocence, McCartha’s claim is actually a claim of newly discovered evidence. In Boyd v. State, 746 So.2d 364 (Ala.Crim.App.1999), this Court explained the standard applicable to claims of newly discovered evidence:

“Under Rule 32.1, Ala. R.Crim. P., subject to the preclusions in Rule 32.2, a remedy is afforded a defendant when the grounds supporting the requested relief are based on newly discovered facts (1) that were not known by petitioner or petitioner’s counsel at the time of trial or sentencing or in time to file a post-trial motion pursuant to Rule 24, [Ala. R.Crim. P.,] or in time to be included in any previous collateral proceeding and could not have been discovered by any of those times through the exercise of reasonable diligence; (2) that were not merely cumulative to other facts that were known; (3) that were not merely amounting to impeachment evidence; (4) that if they had been known at the time of trial or of sentencing, the result probably would have been different; and (5) that establish that petitioner is innocent of the crime for which petitioner was convicted or should not have received the sentence that petitioner received. Rule 32.1(e)(1) through (5), Ala. R.Crim. P. Rule 32.3 places the burden on the defendant to plead and prove facts necessary to obtain relief. Rule 32.6(b) requires that the petition itself disclose the facts relied upon in seeking relief. Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P. When this is done, the burden shifts to the state to plead preclusionary grounds meriting summary dismissal. Rule 32.3[, Ala. R.Crim. P.]. The burden then shifts to the petitioner to disprove a preclusion-ary ground pleadfed] by the state.”

746 So.2d at 405-06 (footnotes omitted). Before the allegations in McCartha’s current Rule 32 petition can be considered to be based on newly discovered evidence, they must meet all five requirements of Rule 32.1(e). See Tarver v. State, 769 So.2d 338, 340-41 (Ala.Crim.App.2000) (“We have repeatedly stated that before a claim may be considered as newly discovered evidence the claim must meet the definition of newly discovered evidence found in Rule 32.1(e).”).

[1018]*1018Here, McCartha has failed to plead facts tending to show that the affidavits contained evidence that was not otherwise discoverable at trial. The affidavit executed by Lisa Hall indicated that the allegedly exculpatory testimony she could have provided at trial was, in fact, known by her at the time of trial, and McCartha pleaded no facts tending to show why Hall’s testimony was not discoverable at the time of trial. Similarly, McCartha pleaded no facts tending to show that he filed his Rule 32 petition within six months of discovering the information contained in the affidavits of June Mann, Travis Huguley, and Mary McCartha as required by Rule 32.2(c). Therefore, the evidence presented by McCartha failed to meet the standards of Rule 32.1(e)(1). Moreover, the evidence presented by McCartha amounts to nothing more than impeachment evidence that he would use to challenge the credibility of the witnesses who testified for the State at trial. As such, this evidence fails to satisfy the requirement of Rule 32.1(e)(3).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 So. 3d 1014, 2011 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 41, 2011 WL 1088721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccartha-v-state-alacrimapp-2011.