Ratliff v. Kelley
Ratliff v. Kelley
Opinion of the Court
Appellant Johnny Ratliff appeals the circuit court's denial of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Ratliff contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in failing to find that he stated sufficient grounds for the writ when he alleged (1) that there was insufficient evidence to support *409the enhancements to the sentences for prior convictions noted on the judgment and (2) that he was not competent when the crimes were committed or to stand trial. We affirm the denial of Ratliff's habeas petition.
On appeal, this court affirmed the judgment at issue in Ratliff's habeas petition. Ratliff v. State ,
Ratliff alleges that the circuit court's application of Philyaw was error because any such limitations would unconstitutionally suspend the right to the writ in violation of article 2, section 11 of the Constitution of the State of Arkansas of 1874. He cites Renshaw v. Norris ,
Ratliff additionally contends that the trial court abused its discretion in finding that the grounds in his petition did not support the writ. Most of the grounds for relief that Ratliff argued below, he does not raise on appeal. These are considered abandoned. The two grounds that he alleges on appeal-insufficient evidence to support the enhancements for his prior convictions that were noted on the judgment and that he was incorrectly found competent as a result of defective evidence that had been admitted-fall outside of the defining limitations of the writ. Assertions of trial error and due-process claims do not implicate the facial validity of the judgment or the jurisdiction of the trial court. Williams v. Kelley ,
The State, not Ratliff, points out that there is a clerical error in the judgment and commitment order. Ratliff was charged and convicted of a Class-B felony, however, the order reflects a Class-Y felony. The sentence of 30 years is within the statutory range for both a Class-B felony and a Class-Y felony under the applicable habitual-offender statute thus the sentence remains valid on its face. See
Affirmed.
Ratliff appears to reference on appeal that he filed a second petition, but only one petition is contained in the record and only one petition is referenced in the order appealed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Johnny RATLIFF v. Wendy KELLEY, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction
- Cited By
- 25 cases
- Status
- Published