Smith v. Smith

Cite as 2013 Ark. 481
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR-13-480
TONY BERNARD SMITH Opinion Delivered November 21, 2013
PETITIONER
SECOND AMENDED PETITION
V. FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
FROM THE CROSS COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT
J.R. SMITH, CROSS COUNTY [NO. 19CR-13-101-1]
SHERIFF; CROSS COUNTY
DETENTION FACILITY
RESPONDENT PETITION DENIED.
PER CURIAM
The present case stems from capital-murder charges filed against Tony Bernard Smith
in Phillips County, Arkansas, on July 15, 2011. On April 28, 2011, Michael Campbell was
killed in an attempted aggravated robbery. On April 29, 2011, Smith was arrested in
connection with Campbell’s death, and has been detained in the Cross County jail since his
arrest.1 On July 15, 2011, Smith was charged with aggravated robbery and capital murder.
Smith filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus against the Cross County Sheriff, J.R.
Smith, which we deemed moot and denied without prejudice on June 6, 2013, and an
amended petition for writ of habeas corpus, which we denied without prejudice, also on June
6, 2013. On September 17, 2013, Smith filed a second amended petition for writ of habeas
corpus, which is now before this court.
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Smith was initially held at the Phillips County jail. However, on April 22, 2013,
the Phillips County jail shut down and Smith was transferred to the Cross County jail.
Cite as 2013 Ark. 481
Smith petitions the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus directing the Cross County
Sheriff to release Smith from custody. Smith asserts that his continued detainment is in
violation of his due process rights because the prosecutor has announced that there is
insufficient evidence to move forward with the case.
A writ of habeas corpus is proper only when a judgment is invalid on its face or when
a circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the cause. Davis v. Reed, 316 Ark. 575, 873 S.W.2d
524 (1994). The burden is on Smith 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). Smith must plead either the facial invalidity or the lack of jurisdiction and make a
“showing by affidavit or other evidence [of] probable cause to believe” that he is illegally
detained. Id. at 221, 226 S.W.3d at 798-99.
Here, none of the allegations raised by Smith called into question the trial court’s
jurisdiction. Assertions of trial error do not implicate the jurisdiction of the trial court. See
Bliss v. Hobbs, 2012 Ark. 315 (per curiam); see also McHaney v. Hobbs, 2012 Ark. 361 (per
curiam) (due-process allegations are not cognizable in a habeas proceeding).
Accordingly, we deny Smith’s second amended petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Petition denied.
CORBIN , J., not participating.
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