Nelson v. State

• Decision Date: 27 February 2014
• Docket Number: No. CR–12–644.,CR–12–644.
• Citation: 431 S.W.3d 852,2014 Ark. 91
• Parties: Bobby Charles NELSON, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

2014 Ark. 91
431 S.W.3d 852

Bobby Charles NELSON, Appellant
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. CR–12–644.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Feb. 27, 2014.

[431 S.W.3d 853]

J. Brooks Wiggins, Little Rock, for appellant.

Dustin McDaniel, Att'y Gen., by: Laura Shue, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

PAUL E. DANIELSON, Justice.

Appellant Bobby Charles Nelson appeals from the order of the Pulaski County Circuit Court denying his petition for a writ of error coram nobis.¹ He asserts two points on appeal: (1) that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying his petition and (2) that the circuit court erred in denying his petition without a hearing. We affirm the circuit court's order.

The instant record reflects that on June 20, 1972, Nelson pled guilty to murder in the first degree and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On April 9, 2012, Nelson, through counsel, filed his petition for writ of error coram nobis, which asserted two bases for relief: (1) that his guilty plea was the product of coercion and was not knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily entered; and (2) that his guilty plea was further involuntary due to his counsel's operating under a conflict of interest by simultaneously representing him and a codefendant who had competing interests. The circuit court denied Nelson's petition and found, in pertinent part:

[T]he defendant's contention that his plea had been coerced by the threat of the death penalty was rejected by this Court in the Findings of Fact entered on July 23, 1974. Lastly, any allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel should have been raised in the defendant's

[431 S.W.3d 854]

Criminal Procedure Rule 1 petition. The defendant's final two grounds for relief are also cognizable pursuant to Rule 37, then Rule 1, and should have been raised in the petition filed April 5, 1974.

The issues raised in the instant petition can be conclusively decided from the files and records of the case, and an evidentiary hearing is not required.[[ ²

It is from this order that Nelson now appeals.

On appeal, Nelson argues that he was entitled to a writ of error coram nobis. He asserts that his trial counsel operated under a conflict of interest that arose when his trial counsel obtained a plea bargain with the State for his codefendant by which the codefendant would testify against Nelson in exchange for a lesser sentence. He maintains that because of that conflict, his trial counsel had to convince him to plead guilty and accept a life sentence since his trial counsel would not have been able to effectively cross-examine his codefendant. Nelson additionally contends that his trial counsel misrepresented his parole eligibility to him to further coerce him into pleading guilty. Finally, he urges that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying his petition without a hearing. The State counters, asserting that Nelson's claims are allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel that are not cognizable in coram nobis proceedings and should have been raised in his previous postconviction proceedings. It further asserts that Nelson has not shown due diligence in bringing his petition. We agree with the State that Nelson's claims are ones not cognizable in a proceeding for error coram nobis; therefore, no hearing was required on his petition.

Error coram nobis proceedings are attended by a strong presumption that the judgment of conviction is valid. See Howard v. State, 2012 Ark. 177, 403 S.W.3d 38. The writ of error coram nobis is an extraordinarily rare remedy, more known for its denial than its approval. See id. The function of the writ is to secure relief from a judgment rendered while there existed some fact that would have prevented its rendition had it been known to the trial court and that, through no negligence or fault of the defendant, was not brought forward before rendition of judgment. See id. The writ is issued only under compelling circumstances to achieve justice and to address errors of the most fundamental nature, and it is available to address only certain errors that are found in one of four categories: (1) insanity at the time of trial, (2) a coerced guilty plea, (3) material evidence withheld by the prosecutor, or (4) a third-party confession to the crime during the time between conviction and appeal. See id.

The standard of review for the denial of a petition for writ of error coram nobis is whether the circuit court abused its discretion in granting or denying the writ. See Newman v. State, 2014 Ark. 7, 2014 WL 197789. An abuse of discretion

[431 S.W.3d 855]

occurs when the circuit court acts arbitrarily or groundlessly. See id. We have further held that when a petition for writ of error coram nobis is filed directly in the circuit court, a hearing is not required if the petition clearly has no merit, either because it fails to state a cause of action to support issuance of the writ, or because it is clear from the petition that the petitioner did not act with due diligence. See, e.g., Deaton v. State, 373 Ark. 605, 285 S.W.3d 611 (2008) (per curiam). To determine whether Nelson should have received a hearing on his petition, this court must necessarily examine whether Nelson's petition clearly had no merit, in that it either failed to state a cognizable claim for error coram nobis relief or in that he did not act with due diligence.

Our review of Nelson's petition reveals no claim that he is “innocent or that his plea was coerced in the sense that it was the result of fear, duress, or threats of mob violence as previously recognized by this court as cognizable in coram nobis relief.” Wright v. State, 2014 Ark. 25, at 5, 2014 WL 260993 (per curiam). Nor has Nelson offered any substantiation that he was subjected to any specific mistreatment; that is, he did not aver he was somehow coerced into appearing before the court and entering his plea. See Bannister v. State, 2014 Ark. 59, 2014 WL 495113 (per curiam); Edwards v. State, 2013 Ark. 517, 2013 WL 6569863 (per curiam). The mere pressure to plead guilty occasioned by the fear of a more severe sentence is not coercion. See, e.g., Pierce v. State, 2009 Ark. 606, 2009 WL 4405790 (per curiam). Likewise, we have held that erroneous advice concerning parole eligibility does not automatically render a guilty plea involuntary. See Morgan v. State, 2013 Ark. 341, 2013 WL 5306051 (per curiam). With regard to claims involving counsel operating under a conflict of interest, we have held that those are ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims, which are outside the purview of a coram nobis proceeding. See, e.g., Watts v. State, 2013 Ark. 485, 2013 WL 6157325 (per curiam); Gardner v. State, 2011 Ark. 27, 2011 WL 291972 (per curiam).

While Nelson attempts to couch his claims in terms of a coerced-guilty plea, it simply does...