Robey v. State
Robey v. State
Opinion
William Keith Robey appeals the circuit court's summary denial of his Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he attacked his January 22, 1991, conviction, entered pursuant to a guilty plea, for unlawful possession of a controlled substance and his resulting sentence of one year and one day in prison. Robey stated in his petition that he did not appeal.
Robey filed his Rule 32 petition on January 12, 2006. In his petition, Robey alleged that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to accept his plea because, he said, the trial court never informed him of his right *Page 1236 to appeal or of his right to have counsel appointed to represent him on appeal if he was determined to be indigent.1 See Rule 26.9(b)(4), Ala.R.Crim.P.2 After receiving a response from the State, the circuit court summarily denied Robey's petition on March 31, 2006.
On appeal, Robey contends that the circuit court erred in summarily denying his petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing because, he says, his claim is jurisdictional, meritorious on its face, and was unrefuted by the State. In support of his argument, Robey cites to Lancaster v.State,
"[T]he appellant's presence at the sentencing hearing, his ability to speak on his behalf before sentence is pronounced, notification of his right to appeal, and his right to have counsel appointed on appeal are jurisdictional matters, which cannot be waived. Because the appellant's claims of lack of jurisdiction are not procedurally barred and are not contested, the trial court should have held an evidentiary hearing on the appellant's petition, which was meritorious on its face, i.e., one which contains matters and allegations which, if true, entitle the petitioner to relief. Ex parte Boatwright,
471 So.2d 1257 (Ala. 1986); Smith v. State,581 So.2d 1283 (Ala.Cr.App. 1991)."
Lancaster has already been overruled to the extent that it held that the failure to afford a defendant allocution before sentencing is a jurisdictional defect. See Shaw v.State,
Because Robey's claim does not implicate the jurisdiction of the trial court, it is time-barred by Rule 32.2(c), Ala.R.Crim.P., because Robey's petition was filed almost 15 years after the time for filing an appeal had lapsed. Therefore, summary denial of Robey's petition was proper.
Based on the foregoing, the judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
McMILLAN, P.J., and COBB, BASCHAB, and WISE, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Keith Robey v. State of Alabama.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published