Waddle v. Sargent

855 S.W.2d 919, 313 Ark. 539, 1993 Ark. LEXIS 387
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 21, 1993
DocketCR 92-1227
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 855 S.W.2d 919 (Waddle v. Sargent) 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
Waddle v. Sargent, 855 S.W.2d 919, 313 Ark. 539, 1993 Ark. LEXIS 387 (Ark. 1993).

Opinions

Donald L. Corbin, Justice.

Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Lincoln County, the county where he is currently being held in prison. The circuit court of that county denied the petition. Petitioner appeals. The primary issue is whether he is being held in the Arkansas Department of Correction without lawful authority. He is being held without lawful authority, and, as a result, we grant the writ of habeas corpus subject to the order we deem proper.

On July 8, 1988, the petitioner was charged in the Circuit Court of Faulkner County with the rape and capital murder of Eunice Collins and was additionally charged with arson for setting the victim’s house on fire to conceal the evidence. The information alleged that the crimes took place in Faulkner County, and the case was assigned Faulkner County Circuit Court Number CR-88-152. Faulkner County is a part of the 20th Judicial District. Judge Rogers, elected, qualified, and acting Circuit-Chancery Judge of the 11th Judicial District, was assigned by the Chief Justice as the judge to hear petitioner’s case after the elected, qualified, and acting Circuit Judge for the 20th Judicial District, Francis T. Donovan, disqualified from the case. See Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-101(b)(l) (1987). On March 9, 1989, pursuant to a plea agreement petitioner entered a plea of guilty to the charge of first degree murder in front of Judge Rogers. This plea hearing was held in Arkansas County, which is in the 11th Judicial District. Judge Rogers pronounced a sentence of life imprisonment, but did not enter a judgment of conviction or order of commitment. Judge Andre E. McNeil, Chancery Judge for the 20th Judicial District, signed the judgment and commitment order on March 14, 1989, as a circuit judge on exchange with Judge Russell Rogers.

Appellant’s first point on appeal is that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to try his case. A plea of guilty is the accused’s trial. Padilla v. State, 279 Ark. 100, 648 S.W.2d 797 (1983). Article 2, Section 10 of the Constitution of Arkansas provides in pertinent part:

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by impartial jury of the county in which the crime shall have been committed; provided that the venue may be changed to any other county of the judicial district in which the indictment is found, upon the application of the accused, in such manner as now is, or may be, prescribed by law[.] [Emphasis added].

Article 7, Section 13 of the Arkansas Constitution provides that a circuit judge “shall reside in and be a conservator of the peace within the circuit for which he shall have been elected.” (Emphasis added). In accordance with these provisions of our constitution, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-88-105 (1987) provides that circuit courts shall have jurisdiction to try criminal offenses within the bounds of the geographical judicial district as follows: “The local jurisdiction of circuit courts . . . shall be of offenses committed within the respective counties in which they are held.” (Emphasis added). Similarly, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-13-210 (1987) provides that a circuit judge who is “physically present in the geographical area of the judicial district which he serves as judge may hear, adjudicate, or render any appropriate order with respect to, any cause or matter pending in any circuit court over which he presides[.]” (Emphasis added). In sum, our constitution and applicable statutes provide that a circuit judge may act in a criminal case only when he is within the geographical area of the judicial district in which the charge is filed and we have so held for over 150 years. See Sexson v. Municipal Court of Springdale, 312 Ark. 261, 852 S.W.2d 308 (1993); Auditor v. Davies, 2 Ark. 494 (1840); Dunn v. State, 2 Ark. 229 (1840).

The trial court in the habeas corpus proceeding now on appeal concluded that petitioner waived venue when he pled guilty in Arkansas County. Certainly venue may be waived in a criminal case within the territorial boundaries of the judicial district, Renfro v. State, 264 Ark. 601, 573 S.W.2d 53 (1978), but this is not a matter of venue within the territorial boundaries of the judicial district. This case involves the jurisdiction of a court acting outside the territorial boundaries of the judicial district. We have held that an extraterritorial order by a circuit judge in a criminal case is “coram non judice and void,” Williams v. Reutzel, 60 Ark. 155, 29 S.W. 374 (1895), and that jurisdiction cannot be conferred by consent. Red Bud Realty Co. v. South, 145 Ark. 604, 224 S.W. 964 (1920). Accordingly, under the facts set out to this point, it is clear that the actions taken by Judge Rogers in Arkansas County in hearing petitioner’s guilty plea and pronouncing the sentence were void.

Petitioner’s second point on appeal is that the judgment of conviction and order of commitment is invalid because it was signed by a judge, Judge McNeil, without authority to do so. The judgment of conviction and order of commitment authorize the Department of Correction to hold petitioner. A writ of habeas corpus is issued in a criminal case such as this only when the prisoner is being detained without lawful authority. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-112-103 (1987), and see Robinson v. Shock, 282 Ark. 262, 667 S.W.2d 956 (1984), for a discussion of the difference in the way we treat criminal cases, civil cases, and juvenile cases. The record does not show that Judge McNeil was ever authorized by exchange agreement or by assignment to act as Circuit Judge of the 20th Judicial District. We will take judicial notice of the fact that Judge McNeil was the elected and acting Chancery Judge of the 20th Judicial District at the time he executed the judgment of conviction and order of commitment in this case. More than a year earlier, on August 1, 1988, Judge Rogers and Judge McNeil had entered into an exchange agreement under which each could hear chancery and probate cases in the others judicial district. However, the record does not reflect any color of authority whatsoever for Judge McNeil to act as a circuit judge. Additionally, the order assigning Judge Rogers to try petitioner’s case contained this provision:

This assignment includes all ancillary proceedings which may arise in connection with said cause and proceedings subsequent thereto shall be held at such time or times as shall be directed and ordered by Judge Rogers.

We have held that the inclusion of this provision in an order of assignment deprives any other judge of authority to act in any proceeding related to the case. Hobson v. Cummings, 259 Ark. 717, 536 S.W.2d 132 (1976). As a result, only Judge Rogers could execute a valid judgment of conviction and order of commitment for petitioner. Judge McNeil was without the authority to execute a valid judgment of conviction and order of commitment in the Circuit Court of Faulkner County. Therefore, the judgment of conviction and order of commitment are facially invalid. On the facts set out to this point, it would seem clear that the petitioner is being held without lawful authority, and the writ of habeas corpus must be issued. However, an additional procedural problem must be addressed before a decision can be reached. The problem is occasioned by the below set out facts.

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Bluebook (online)
855 S.W.2d 919, 313 Ark. 539, 1993 Ark. LEXIS 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waddle-v-sargent-ark-1993.