Swicegood v. State
| Decision Date | 08 July 1994 |
| Parties | Paul SWICEGOOD v. STATE. CR 93-1180. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Paul Swicegood, pro se.
James H. Evans, Atty. Gen., and James Prude, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
This is an appeal from the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus. The appellant, Paul Swicegood, was convicted in 1989 of burglary in the second degree and was "released under the conditions of bail-bond" until November 1991, when his conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. 565 So.2d 1206. The appellant claims that he is "entitled to credit for time spent under the restraints of bail/bond to be credited towards the service of his sentence." C.R. 3; Appellant's brief at 3. The circuit court denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus, "it not being one of the motions recognized under the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure." C.R. 1.
The circuit court denied the petition for the wrong reason. Habeas corpus is a valid remedy for certain alleged wrongs, even under the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure. See H. Maddox, Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure § 32.0 at 783 (1990). See also Appendix to Rule 32, A.R.Crim.P. ("[t]his form is not to be used to challenge loss of good time deductions from sentence, changes in custody classification, or jail or prison conditions").
The appellant is seeking relief from his sentence and he should have filed a petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to Rule 32. Rule 32 Rule 32.4, A.R.Crim.P. Technically, the circuit court should have returned the "habeas corpus" petition to the appellant in order to give the appellant the opportunity to file a proper Rule 32 petition. Rule 32.6(a).
However, where the judgment of the circuit court denying a petition for post-conviction relief is correct for any reason, it will be affirmed by this Court, even if the circuit court stated an incorrect reason for its denial. See Holladay v. State, 629 So.2d 673, 678 (Ala.Cr.App.1992), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1171, 114 S.Ct. 1208, 127 L.Ed.2d 555 (1994). In this case, the circuit court's denial of the petition is due to be affirmed because the appellant's substantive claim is without merit. A convict is not entitled to credit on his sentence for time spent released on bail. A convict is entitled to credit on his sentence only for time during which the convict is actually incarcerated. Rule 26.9(b)(2), A.R.Crim.P. See State v. Green, 436 So.2d 803 (Ala.1983) (); Ex parte Peoples, 488 So.2d 815 (Ala.1986) (). Even "good time credit" is based on "days...
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Pierce v. State
...for the denial. Sumlin v. State, 710 So.2d 941 (Ala.Cr. App.1998); Long v. State, 675 So.2d 532 (Ala.Cr.App.1996); Swicegood v. State, 646 So.2d 159 (Ala.Cr.App.1994); Roberts v. State, 516 So.2d 936 (Ala.Cr.App.1987); Jenkins v. State, 516 So.2d 935 (Ala.Cr. App.1987). Because all of the a......
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...Sumlin v. State, 710 So.2d 941 (Ala.Crim. App.1998); Long v. State, 675 So.2d 532 (Ala.Crim.App.1996); Swicegood v. State, 646 So.2d 159 (Ala.Crim.App.1994); Kilgore v. State, 643 So.2d 1015 (Ala.Crim. App.1993); Roberts v. State, 516 So.2d 936 (Ala.Crim.App.1987); Jenkins v. State, 516 So.......
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...because the trial court stated an incorrect reason for the denial. Long v. State, 675 So.2d 532 (Ala.Cr.App.1996); Swicegood v. State, 646 So.2d 159 (Ala.Cr.App.1994); Roberts v. State, 516 So.2d 936 (Ala.Cr.App.1987); Jenkins v. State, 516 So.2d 935 (Ala.Cr.App.1987). Because all of the ap......
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