DocketNumber: No. CV-18-670
Citation Numbers: 571 S.W.3d 484, 2019 Ark. 108
Judges: Baker
Filed Date: 4/18/2019
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 1/21/2022
Appellant Everett Foreman appeals the denial by the Lee County Circuit Court of his petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101 (Repl. 2016). Foreman raises two grounds for reversal of the order-that the circuit court erred in declaring his petition untimely and in *486holding that the petition was without merit. We affirm.
I. Background
In 1994, Foreman was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an off-duty police officer and sentenced to life imprisonment. This court reversed the judgment and remanded the case for a new trial. Foreman v. State ,
II. Grounds for Issuance of the Writ
A writ of habeas corpus is proper when a judgment of conviction is invalid on its face or when a circuit court lacks jurisdiction over the cause. Philyaw v. Kelley ,
Under our statute, a petitioner for the writ who does not allege his actual innocence and proceed under Act 1780 of 2001 must plead either the facial invalidity of the judgment 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 being illegally detained.
III. Standard of Review
A circuit court's decision on a petition for writ of habeas corpus will be upheld unless it is clearly erroneous. Hobbs v. Gordon ,
IV. Timeliness of the Petition
The circuit court held that, in addition to being without merit, Foreman's petition for writ of habeas corpus was not timely because it was not filed within ninety days of the date that the judgment of conviction was entered. However, the Arkansas Constitution nor the state statutes place a time limit on pursuing a writ of habeas corpus. Renshaw v. Norris ,
V. Recantation of Trial Testimony
It was Foreman's contention that the writ should issue because in 2017 a key witness recanted her trial testimony that had implicated him as the person who had shot the police officer. He argues that the recantation of the witness's testimony renders the judgment in his case invalid because *487no reasonable juror would have found him guilty of first-degree murder if the witness had not perjured herself at his trial.
In this case, the circuit court had jurisdiction to render the judgment of conviction; therefore, Foreman was required to show that the judgment was unlawful on its face. Miller v. State ,
Affirmed.