Harris v. State, No. CR-03-0240 (Ala. Crim. App. 3/26/2004), CR-03-0240.

• Decision Date: 26 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. CR-03-0240.,CR-03-0240.
• Parties: Steven Wayne Harris v. State of Alabama.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

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Steven Wayne Harris v. State of Alabama.

No. CR-03-0240.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Decided March 26, 2004.

Appeal from Blount Circuit Court (CC-93-206.60).

SHAW, Judge.

Steven Wayne Harris appeals the circuit court's summary denial of his Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he attacked his 1995 guilty-plea conviction for capital murder and his resulting sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This Court affirmed Harris's conviction and sentence on direct appeal. See Harris v. State, 671 So. 2d 125 (Ala. Crim. App. 1995). The Alabama Supreme Court denied certiorari review and this Court issued a certificate of judgment on November 17, 1995.

Harris, through retained counsel, filed the present petition on August 27, 2002, claiming that his guilty plea was involuntary; that the State had failed to disclose exculpatory evidence; that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal; that newly discovered evidence existed that entitled him to a new trial; and that he had failed to appeal within the prescribed time and that that failure was through no fault of his own. After receiving a response from the State, the circuit court summarily denied the petition on September 22, 2003.

Our review of the record reveals that neither Harris nor his retained attorney verified the petition; in fact, it was not even signed. Rule 32.6(a), Ala.R.Crim.P., requires that a Rule 32 petition be "verified by the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney." In Thornton v. State, 859 So. 2d 458 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003), this Court was presented with an appeal from the circuit court's denial of Rule 32 petitions filed by Thomas Thornton, exercising a power of attorney, purporting to challenge the convictions and sentences of Michael and Kenneth Thornton. In holding that the petitions had not been properly filed, this Court stated:

"Because nothing in the record suggests that Thomas Thornton is a licensed attorney in the State of Alabama and because Rule 32.6(a), Ala.R.Crim.P., specifically requires that the petitioner or his attorney must verify the claims contained in the petition, the instant petitions were not properly filed. Thus, the circuit court was without jurisdiction to rule on the petitions.

"`"`Because [appellant's] Rule 32 petition was not filed in the form required by ... Rule 32.6(b), [Ala.R.Crim.P.], the petition was due to be returned to the appellant with instructions to file a verified petition in the proper form. Therefore, jurisdiction of this case is transferred to the trial court with instructions to set aside its order denying the petition and to return the petition to [appellant]...