Supreme Court of Alabama, 2014

Harper v. State

Harper v. State
Supreme Court of Alabama · Decided April 18, 2014 · Bolin, Bryan, Main, Moore, Murdock, Parker, Shaw, Stuart, Wise
154 So. 3d 114; 2014 WL 1508696 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

Harper v. State

Opinion of the Court

WISE, Justice.

The petition for the writ of certiorari is denied.

In denying the petition for the writ of certiorari, this Court does not wish to be understood as approving all the language, reasons, or statements of law in the Court of Criminal Appeals’ unpublished memorandum. Horsley v. Horsley, 291 Ala. 782, 280 So.2d 155 (1973).

WRIT DENIED.

STUART, BOLIN, PARKER, MURDOCK, SHAW, MAIN, and BRYAN, JJ., concur. MOORE, C.J., dissents.

Dissenting Opinion

MOORE, Chief Justice

(dissenting).

Shawn Ray Harper pleaded guilty to first-degree unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, a violation of § 13A-12-218; Aa.Code 1975. On April 28, 2013, he filed the underlying Rule 32, Aa. R.Crim. P., petition, alleging, among other things, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to render a judgment or to impose a sentence because Harper’s preliminary hearing was waived by a court-appointed attorney whom Harper had fired and replaced with another attorney before the hearing. I would grant the petition for the writ of certiorari to determine whether the attorney who allegedly no longer represented Harper improperly waived Harper’s- preliminary hearing. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.

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