Pittman v. State

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama

Pittman v. State

282 So. 2d 332, 50 Ala. App. 712, 1973 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1350

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama

DecidedAugust 28, 1973

Docket6 Div. 536

StatusPublished

Cited by4 cases

This text of 282 So. 2d 332 (Pittman 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.

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Pittman v. State, 282 So. 2d 332, 50 Ala. App. 712, 1973 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1350 (Ala. Ct. App. 1973).

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Opinion

CATES, Presiding Judge.

Appeal from denial of coram nobis.

Pittman, it is inferable, pled guilty before indictment to seven charges of robbery and four of kidnapping. The latter crime, kidnapping simpliciter, i.e., not for ransom, is punishable with not less than two, nor more than ten, in the penitentiary.

Robbery, of course, carries a punishment ranging from ten years to death. The latter punishment is now stayed by Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346.

To allow pleas of guilty before indictment it was necessary to amend § 8 of the 1901 Constitution. This was done by Amendment 37. Amendment 37, however, does not apply to crimes involving capital punishment. Hence, Pittman’s pleas of guilty, if in fact entered to the charges of robbery, should not have been accepted by the trial court. Capital offenses can only be charged by an indictment, State v. Middleton, 5 Port. 484.

The record before us does not show that the proceedings leading to the pleas of guilty were introduced in evidence either as documents certified by the deputy circuit clerk or through his testimony viva voce. Coram nobis is an independent civil proceeding and, hence, strictly on appeal, the record must show either a notation by the trial judge that he has taken judicial notice of the records of the original convictions or that the records thereof have been introduced in evidence in the post conviction action.

Accordingly, we must remand to have the lower court ascertain whether or not Pittman, in fact, was erroneously allowed to plead guilty to a capital offense before indictment.

Remanded with directions.

All the Judges concur.

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CATES, Presiding Judge.

Appeal from denial of coram nobis.

Pittman, it is inferable, pled guilty before indictment to seven charges of robbery and four of kidnapping. The latter crime, kidnapping simpliciter, i.e., not for ransom, is punishable with not less than two, nor more than ten, in the penitentiary.

Robbery, of course, carries a punishment ranging from ten years to death. The latter punishment is now stayed by Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346.

To allow pleas of guilty before indictment it was necessary to amend § 8 of the 1901 Constitution. This was done by Amendment 37. Amendment 37, however, does not apply to crimes involving capital punishment. Hence, Pittman’s pleas of guilty, if in fact entered to the charges of robbery, should not have been accepted by the trial court. Capital offenses can only be charged by an indictment, State v. Middleton, 5 Port. 484.

The record before us does not show that the proceedings leading to the pleas of guilty were introduced in evidence either as documents certified by the deputy circuit clerk or through his testimony viva voce. Coram nobis is an independent civil proceeding and, hence, strictly on appeal, the record must show either a notation by the trial judge that he has taken judicial notice of the records of the original convictions or that the records thereof have been introduced in evidence in the post conviction action.

Accordingly, we must remand to have the lower court ascertain whether or not Pittman, in fact, was erroneously allowed to plead guilty to a capital offense before indictment.

Remanded with directions.

All the Judges concur.

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Bluebook (online)

282 So. 2d 332, 50 Ala. App. 712, 1973 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 1350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pittman-v-state-alacrimapp-1973.

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