Anderson v. Hobbs ( 2013 )

Cite as 2013 Ark. 310SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CV-11-1182
Opinion Delivered September 5, 2013
PRO SE APPEAL FROM THE
GARY ANDERSON LINCOLN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT,
APPELLANT 40LCV-11-55, HON. JODI RAINES
DENNIS, JUDGE
v.
RAY HOBBS, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION AFFIRMED.
APPELLEE
PER CURIAM
In 2003, appellant Gary Anderson pled guilty to rape in the Hot Spring County Circuit
Court in Case No. 30CR-02-244, and he was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. On the
same date, appellant pled guilty to sexual assault in the second degree in Case No. 30CR-02-245
and was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the sentence
imposed in Case No. 30CR-02-244. On May 11, 2011, appellant filed a petition for writ of
habeas corpus in the Lincoln County Circuit Court, the county in which he was imprisoned.1
In his petition, appellant alleged that his due-process rights were violated at his guilty-plea
hearing based on the trial court’s failure to comply with Rules 24.4, 24.5, and 24.6 of the
Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. The trial court dismissed the petition, and appellant
brings this appeal. We find no error and affirm.
A writ of habeas corpus is only proper when a judgment of conviction is invalid on its
face or when a circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the cause. Girley v. Hobbs, 2012 Ark. 4471
As of the date of this decision, appellant remains in custody in Lincoln County.
Cite as 2013 Ark. 310(per curiam); Abernathy v. Norris, 2011 Ark. 335 (per curiam). The burden is on the petitioner
in a habeas-corpus petition to establish that the trial court lacked jurisdiction or that the
commitment was invalid on its face; otherwise, there is no basis for a finding that a writ of
habeas corpus should issue. Young v. Norris, 365 Ark. 219, 226 S.W.3d 797 (2006) (per curiam).
Under our statute, a petitioner who does not allege his actual innocence must plead either the
facial invalidity or the lack of jurisdiction by the trial court and make a showing by affidavit or
other evidence of probable cause to believe that he is illegally detained. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-
112-103(a)(1) (Repl. 2006); Murry v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 64 (per curiam). Moreover, a habeas
proceeding does not afford a prisoner an opportunity to retry his or her case, and it is not a
substitute for direct appeal or postconviction relief. Friend v. Norris, 364 Ark. 315, 219 S.W.3d
123 (2005) (per curiam).
Appellant contends that at his plea hearing, the trial court violated certain court rules with
regard to the negotiation and acceptance of guilty pleas, thereby violating his rights to procedural
due process and losing jurisdiction to sentence him. Because his claims do not challenge the
facial validity of the judgment and failed to demonstrate a lack of the trial court’s jurisdiction,
they are not cognizable in a petition for habeas corpus relief. Culbertson v. State, 2012 Ark. 112(per curiam); Skinner v. Hobbs, 2011 Ark. 383 (per curiam); Friend, 364 Ark. 315, 219 S.W.3d 123;
see also McHaney v. Hobbs, 2012 Ark. 361 (per curiam) (due-process allegations are not cognizable
in a habeas proceeding). Although we treat allegations of void or illegal sentences as issues of
subject-matter jurisdiction, the type of factual inquiry necessary for an issue that concerns the
factual basis for a plea is one that goes beyond the face of the commitment and is not the kind
Cite as 2013 Ark. 310of inquiry to be addressed by a proceeding for the writ. Culbertson, 2012 Ark. 112; Skinner, 2011
Ark. 383; Friend, 364 Ark. at 317, 219 S.W.3d at 125. Appellant failed to show that the judgment
of conviction was facially invalid or that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction; thus, the trial court
properly denied his petition for relief.
Because appellant has failed to show the judgment of conviction was invalid on its face
or that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction, the circuit court properly determined that the writ
should not issue. Thus, we affirm the dismissal of appellant’s petition.
Affirmed.
Gary Anderson, pro se appellant.
Dustin McDaniel, Att’y Gen., by: Karen Virginia Wallace, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.