Ex parte Wyre
Decision Date | 27 May 2011 |
Docket Number | CR–10–0773. |
Citation | 74 So.3d 479 |
Parties | Ex parte Leo WYRE, Jr.(In re State of Alabama v. Leo Wyre, Jr.). |
Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Leo Wyre, Jr., pro se.
Submitted on petition only.
The petitioner, Leo Wyre, Jr., filed this petition for a writ of mandamus requesting that we direct Judge Robert Wilters to grant Wyre's in forma pauperis request so that he may file a postconviction petition in the Baldwin Circuit Court without prepaying the filing fee. In January 2011, Wyre filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., in the Baldwin Circuit Court attacking his 2009 convictions for trafficking in cocaine, possessing marijuana, and possessing drug paraphernalia. The petition was accompanied by a request to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). On January 26, 2011, Judge Wilters denied Wyre's request for IFP status. Wyre then filed this petition for a writ of mandamus.
A petition for a writ of mandamus is the appropriate vehicle for reviewing a lower court's ruling denying a request to proceed in forma pauperis. See Goldsmith v. State, 709 So.2d 1352 (Ala.Crim.App.1997).
Wyre asserts that Judge Wilters erred in denying his IFP request because, he says, he had only 28 cents in his inmate account when he filed the request for indigency status and that the “average” of his monthly balances for the 12 months preceding the filing of the petition was only $30.74. He also argues that Judge Wilters erred in failing to make specific findings of facts as to why he denied Wyre's IFP request.
In order to satisfy the prerequisites for the issuance of a writ of mandamus, the petitioner must establish: (1) a clear legal right to the relief sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3) no adequate remedy at law; and (4) the properly invoked jurisdiction of the reviewing court. See State v. Williams, 679 So.2d 275 (Ala.Crim.App.1996).
Currently, the fee for filing a postconviction petition in the Baldwin Circuit Court is $249.50. Wyre's inmate account summary shows that he had deposits totaling $876.52 to his inmate-account in the 12 months preceding the filing of the petition. Some months he made no deposits; other months deposits were as much as $216.
Rule 32.6(a), Ala. R.Crim. P., states, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.)
According to Rule 32.6(a), Ala. R.Crim. P., a court considering an indigency request may consider the deposits to a petitioner's inmate account for the 12 months preceding the filing. In those months, Wyre had over two times the amount necessary to satisfy the filing fee deposited to his account. As this Court stated in Ex parte Holley, 883 So.2d 266 (Ala.Crim.App.2003):
883 So.2d at 268–69. Wyre could have saved the money to pay the filing fee; thus, he is not indigent. Judge Wilters did not abuse his discretion in denying Wyre's IFP request based on Wyre's inmate-account activity.
Wyre further argues that the circuit court erred in failing to make specific written findings as to why it denied his IFP request. He cites Lucas v. State, 597 So.2d 759 (Ala.Crim.App.1992), and Rule 24(a), Ala. R.App. P., in support of his argument.
However, this Court in James v. State, 61 So.3d 357 (Ala.Crim.App.2010), reversed its decision in Lucas and stated:
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Lucas v. Estes
...the amount of an applicable filing fee in deposits to his prison account during the preceding twelve months. See Ex parte Wyre, 74 So. 3d 479, 482 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011); Ex parte Cook, 202 So. 3d 316, 320-21 (Ala. 2016); see also Windham v. Davenport, 2017 WL 6060896, at *8-9 (M.D. Ala. Au......
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Cook v. Bentley (Ex parte Cook)
...Alabama Med. Ctr., 187 So.3d 1165, 1167 (Ala.Civ.App.2015) ; Ex parte Holley, 883 So.2d 266, 269 (Ala.Crim.App.2003).In Ex parte Wyre, 74 So.3d 479 (Ala.Crim.App.2011), Wyre sought IFP status in connection with the filing of a postconviction petition in the Baldwin Circuit Court. Id. at 480......
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Harris v. Williams
...the filing fee and is not indigent. See Ex parte Wyre, 74 So.3d 479, 482 (Ala.Crim.App.2011). Accordingly, this petition is hereby DENIED. (Id.). It difficult to understand all the claims Harris raises in his habeas corpus petition (Doc. 1), as amended (see Docs. 13 & 14-1); however, the un......
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Wilson v. Se. Ala. Med. Ctr.
...to grant Wilson's IFP request. A trial court's decision to deny an IFP request is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Ex parte Wyre, 74 So.3d 479 (Ala.2011) ; Ex parte Holley, 883 So.2d 266, 269 (Ala.Crim.App.2003). In her brief on appeal, Wilson first argues that the denial of her IFP......