Mitchell v. State, No. 4950

• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas
• Writing for the Court: McFADDIN
• Citation: 354 S.W.2d 557,234 Ark. 762
• Parties: Lonnie B. MITCHELL, Petitioner, v. STATE of Arkansas, Respondent.
• Docket Number: No. 4950
• Decision Date: 05 March 1962

Page 557

354 S.W.2d 557 234 Ark. 762 Lonnie B. MITCHELL, Petitioner,
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Respondent. No. 4950. Supreme Court of Arkansas. March 5, 1962.

C. C. Mercer, Jr., Little Rock, for petitioner.

J. Frank Holt, Atty. Gen., by Thorr Thomas, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

[234 Ark. 763] McFADDIN, Justice.

This is an original application filed in this Court for permission to file a Writ of Error Coram Nobis in the Union Circuit Court for inquiry as to Mitchell's sanity at the time he was tried and convicted in that Court. ¹

This is the fourth time this man Lonnie Mitchell has been in litigation in this Court. The first case was Mitchell v. State (Case No. 4950, decided September 21, 1959), 230 Ark. 894, 327 S.W.2d 384, in which we affirmed the conviction of Mitchell for rape. The second case was Mitchell v. State (Case No. 4984, decided September 12, 1960), Ark., 337 S.W.2d 663, in which we held that the Circuit Court of Union County had no jurisdiction to hear a Motion to Vacate the Judgment of Conviction in the first case, since this Court had not reinvested the Circuit Court with such jurisdiction. The third case was Mitchell v. State ex rel. Henslee

Page 558

(Case No. 5-2328, decided May 8, 1961), Ark., 346 S.W.2d 201, in which we affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County which had dismissed Mitchell's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.

The present (fourth) case was filed in this Court on July 3, 1961, and is an 'Application for Permission to File Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis.' This application is filed in this Court because we affirmed the first case, thereby acquiring jurisdiction; and the Circuit Court cannot hear a Writ of Error Coram Nobis in a case appealed to this Court until we grant such permission. State v. Hudspeth, 191 Ark. 963, 88 S.W.2d 858. The said application filed herein by the attorneys ² for Mitchell alleges:

[234 Ark. 764] '2. Petitioner avers and verily believes that he was insane at the time of the commission of the offense for which he is now convicted.

'3. Petitioner avers and verily believes that not only was he insane at the time of the crime for which he was convicted and is now committed, but that he was insane at the time of the trial wherein he was convicted and sentenced to death, and further that he is presently insane.

'4. Petitioner did not have a mental examination prior to his trial, and has been repeatedly refused permission to have a private psychiatrist examine him, and Petitioner honestly feels that a mental examination by a private psychiatrist is absolutely necessary so as to afford appellant an opportunity to be heard.

'5. Petitioner's insanity was not known at the time of the trial, (1) and such fact was not then suggested, (2) or raised in issue by either of the parties hereto; Petitioner avers that he did not have the mental capacity to so apprise the trial court of his mental condition.

'6. That no other remedy is available to Petitioner to review and inquire into the question of his insanity at the time that the crime was committed, and also as to his insanity at the time of the trial, except the remedy as provided by a writ of error coram nobis.'

In Jenkins v. State, 223 Ark. 245, 265 S.W.2d 512, we held that we would not grant permission to file a Writ of...