Stuart v. State
| Decision Date | 15 February 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 21684,21684 |
| Citation | 128 Idaho 436,914 P.2d 933 |
| Parties | Gene Francis STUART, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Alan G. Lance, Attorney General; Lynn E. Thomas, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Lynn E. Thomas argued.
This is a post-conviction proceeding in a death penalty case. We conclude that the trial court was correct in denying the petitioner's I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion, which asserted that the Court's opinion in State v. Tribe, 123 Idaho 721, 852 P.2d 87 (1993) requires that the petitioner receive a new trial because the jury was not instructed on second degree murder by torture.
In 1982, Gene Francis Stuart was convicted of first degree murder by torture and sentenced to death. The Court upheld Stuart's death sentence on his direct appeal in State v. Stuart, 110 Idaho 163, 715 P.2d 833 (1985) (Stuart I ), and upheld the trial court's dismissal of Stuart's first petition for post-conviction relief in Stuart v. State, 118 Idaho 865, 801 P.2d 1216 (1990) (Stuart II ). In Stuart v. State, 118 Idaho 932, 935, 801 P.2d 1283, 1286 (1990) (Stuart III ), the Court reversed the trial court's summary dismissal of Stuart's second petition for post-conviction relief and remanded for an evidentiary hearing, holding that Stuart had raised a triable issue of fact. On remand, the trial court denied all the relief sought by Stuart's second petition. The Court reversed this denial and remanded the case to the trial court with instructions. Stuart v. State, 127 Idaho 806, 817, 907 P.2d 783, 794 (1995) (Stuart IV ).
While the appeal in Stuart IV was pending, Stuart made an I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion, asserting that the Court's opinion in State v. Tribe, 123 Idaho 721, 852 P.2d 87 (1993), regarding second degree murder by torture reverses Stuart I, thereby entitling Stuart to relief from the trial court's judgment rendered after the evidentiary hearing.
The trial court denied Stuart's I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion, and Stuart appealed.
THE TRIAL COURT CORRECTLY DENIED THE I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) MOTION.
Stuart asserts that the trial court should have granted the I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion and applied Tribe to Stuart's case. We disagree.
I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) (1995) provides a means of obtaining relief from a final judgment which is based on a prior judgment that has been reversed, or otherwise vacated, or if "it is no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application." The motion may be made during the pendency of an appeal as it was in this case, or even after entry of a final judgment; the only requirement is that it be raised "within a reasonable time." Id.
Having said this, however, we hasten to point out that I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) is not applicable here because Tribe does not reverse Stuart I. There is a reversal only when an appellate court overturns a lower court's decision in the same case. Because Tribe and Stuart I are unrelated cases, the most Tribe could have done was overrule Stuart I, which it does not. When an appellate court overrules past precedent, the jurisprudence of retroactivity comes into play, not I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5). As the Court pointed out in Curl v. Curl, I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) is limited to situations where a prior judgment is reversed and " 'the present judgment is based on the prior judgment in the sense of res judicata or collateral estoppel.' " 115 Idaho 997, 1000, 772 P.2d 204, 207 (1989) (quoting 11 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2863 (1973)).
Contrary to Stuart's argument, there is no basis for retroactively applying Tribe to Stuart I because Tribe does not even overrule Stuart I. Stuart invoked only parts IA and II of the Tribe opinion in his I.R.C.P. 60(b)(5) motion. Parts IA and II of the Tribe opinion, which state that Stuart I was wrongly decided because the trial court had a Even if Tribe had overruled Stuart I, the fact that Stuart I was final when Tribe was issued would preclude retroactive application. See Fetterly v. State, 121 Idaho 417, 418-19, 825 P.2d 1073, 1074-75 (1991), cert. den. 506 U.S. 1002, 113 S.Ct. 607, 121 L.Ed.2d 542 (1992) ().
[128 Idaho 438] sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on all lesser included offenses, were written by...To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Stuart v. State Of Idaho
...thereby entitling Stuart to relief from the trial court's judgment rendered after the evidentiary hearing.” Stuart v. State (Stuart V), 128 Idaho 436, 437, 914 P.2d 933, 934 (1996). This Court affirmed the district court's denial of Stuart's Id. at 438, 914 P.2d at 935. In the proceedings u......
-
In re Rhoades v. State, Docket No. 35187 (Idaho 3/17/2010)
...this Court indicated in dicta that the Griffith approach adopted in Fetterly was still controlling when it stated in Stuart v. State, 128 Idaho 436, 914 P.2d 933 (1996): Even if [State v. Tribe, 123 Idaho 721, 852 P.2d 87 (1993)] had overruled Stuart I [State v. Stuart, 110 Idaho 163, 715 P......
-
Stuart v. State
...relief after a prior judgment has been reversed. The district court denied his petition and this Court affirmed. Stuart v. State, 128 Idaho 436, 914 P.2d 933 (1996) (Stuart V). ...
-
State v. Peterson
...discharged, or a prior judgment upon which it is based has been reversed or otherwise vacated. Peterson cites to Stuart v. State, 128 Idaho 436, 437, 914 P.2d 933, 934 (1996) to support his claim that his motion seeking an order for reimbursement of the sums he paid toward restitution falls......