Lukach v. Hobbs

Cite as 2014 Ark. 106SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CV-13-571
JOHN RICHARD LUKACH Opinion Delivered March 6, 2014
APPELLANT
PRO SE MOTION FOR EXPANSION
V. OF PAGE LIMIT FOR BRIEF AND
MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME
TO FILE BRIEF; MOTION FOR
RAY HOBBS, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS HEARING AND FOR APPOINTMENT
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OF COUNSEL; MOTION TO ATTACH
APPELLEE DIRECT-APPEAL BRIEFS AS
EXHIBITS; AMENDED MOTION FOR
EXPANSION OF PAGE LIMIT FOR
BRIEF [JEFFERSON COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT, NO. 35CV-13-12]
HONORABLE JODI RAINES DENNIS,
JUDGE
APPEAL DISMISSED; MOTIONS
MOOT.
PER CURIAM
On January 8, 2013, appellant John Richard Lukach filed a pro se petition for writ of
habeas corpus in the Jefferson County Circuit Court where he was incarcerated. The circuit
court dismissed the petition, and appellant lodged an appeal from the order in this court. Now
before us are appellant’s motions for expansion of page limit for brief and extension of time
to file brief, for hearing and appointment of counsel, and to attach direct-appeal briefs as
exhibits, as well as his amended motion for expansion of page limit.
We do not reach the merits of the motions and dismiss the appeal because the Jefferson
County Circuit Court can no longer grant the relief requested by appellant. See Chestang v. Hobbs,
2011 Ark. 404 (per curiam). An appeal of the denial of postconviction relief, including an appeal
Cite as 2014 Ark. 106from an order that denied a petition for writ of habeas corpus, will not be permitted to go
forward where it is clear that the appeal is without merit. Glaze v. State, 2013 Ark. 458 (per
curiam); Wilencewicz v. Hobbs, 2012 Ark. 230 (per curiam).
Any petition for writ of habeas corpus to effect the release of a prisoner is properly
addressed to the circuit court in the county in which the prisoner is held in custody, unless the
petition is filed pursuant to Act 1780 of 2001. Wilencewicz, 2012 Ark. 230; Davis v. Hobbs, 2012
Ark. 167 (per curiam). Appellant’s petition was not filed under Act 1780, and the public records
of the Arkansas Department of Correction confirm that appellant is now incarcerated in a
facility in Lincoln County.
A circuit court does not have jurisdiction to release on a writ of habeas corpus a prisoner
not in custody in that court’s jurisdiction. Fields v. State, 2013 Ark. 471 (per curiam); Chestang,
2011 Ark. 404. When a prisoner who seeks habeas relief is transferred to a facility in a different
county, the circuit court in the county where the prisoner was previously incarcerated no longer
has jurisdiction to issue and make a returnable writ. Fields, 2013 Ark. 471; Wilencewicz, 2012 Ark.
230. Although the Jefferson County Circuit Court may have retained subject-matter jurisdiction,
it does not retain personal jurisdiction over the person in whose custody the prisoner is detained,
and an order by that court will not act to effect his release. Davis v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 378 (per
curiam). This court will dismiss an appeal of the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus
when the appellant is no longer incarcerated in the county where his petition was filed because
the court can no longer grant the relief sought. Id.Appeal dismissed; motions moot.
John Richard Lukach, pro se appellant.
No response.
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Cite as 2014 Ark. 1063