Whitson v. Baker, 82-7186
| Citation | 732 F.2d 856 |
| Decision Date | 21 May 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-7186,82-7186 |
| Parties | Larry Wayne WHITSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Charles BAKER and Troy Howton, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) |
Dominick, Fletcher, Yeilding, Acker, Wood & Lloyd, John Terrell McElheny, Birmingham, Ala., for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Before RONEY, VANCE and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
This state prisoner's civil rights action presents a question concerning the construction of an Alabama tolling statute, Ala.Code Sec. 6-2-8 (1975). Because this question of state law appears to control the outcome of this appeal and there are no clear controlling precedents in the decisions of the Alabama Supreme Court, we certify the question to the Alabama Supreme Court under Rule 18 of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure.
CERTIFICATE FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT TO THE SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA, PURSUANT TO RULE 18, ALABAMA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE.
(1) Style of the Case
The style of the case in which this certificate is made is Larry Wayne Whitson, plaintiff-appellant, versus Charles Baker and Troy Howton, defendants-appellees, Case No. 82-7186, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, on appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
(2) Statement of Facts
Larry Wayne Whitson was arrested on April 20, 1978, on a charge of first degree burglary, and placed in the Jefferson County Jail in Bessemer, Alabama. Bond was fixed at $5,000. Whitson was unable to post bond and therefore remained incarcerated pending his trial. He was tried in March, 1979, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty on March 20, 1979. Whitson was sentenced to twenty-five years in the penitentiary. His motion for a new trial was denied on April 20, 1979, and that day he was transferred to the Birmingham Division of the Jefferson County Jail. Whitson's conviction was affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on September 9, 1979.
Whitson filed a pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1983, alleging that by placing him in solitary confinement, jail authorities violated his eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The incidents occurred on September 15 and 16, 1978. Whitson filed his complaint on December 1, 1980.
The district court held that Whitson's Sec. 1983 claim was barred by Ala.Code Sec. 6-2-39(a)(5), which provides a one-year limitation on "[a]ctions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section...." This Court held that this one-year statute of limitations was correctly applied to Whitson's claim, but remanded to the district court for consideration of whether the statute of limitations was tolled by Ala.Code Sec. 6-2-8 (1975), which provides:
Suspension of limitations--Disabilities
(a) If anyone entitled to commence any of the actions enumerated in this chapter, ... is, at the time such right accrues, ... imprisoned on a criminal charge for any term less than for life, he shall have three years, or the period allowed by law for the commencement of such action if it be less than three years, after the termination of such disability to commence an action....
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(c) A disability which did not exist when a claim accrued does not suspend the operation of the limitation unless the...
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Fullman v. Graddick
...the criminal proceedings in his favor. We note that this Court has recently certified to the Alabama Supreme Court, see Whitson v. Baker, 732 F.2d 856 (11th Cir.1984), the question of whether Ala.Code Sec. 6-2-8(a) applies to pre-trial detainees, as that court has never ruled on the effect ......
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Whitson v. Baker
...imprisoned on the criminal charge for a term less than life, does Alabama Code [1975] § 6-2-8 operate to toll the statute of limitations?" 732 F.2d 856. Larry Wayne Whitson was arrested and charged with first degree burglary in April 1978. Because he was unable to post bond, he was held in ......
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Whitson v. Baker
...on the criminal charge for a term less than life, does Alabama Code [1975] Sec. 6-2-8 operate to toll the statute of limitations?" 732 F.2d 856. Larry Wayne Whitson was arrested and charged with first degree burglary in April 1978. Because he was unable to post bond, he was held in the Jeff......
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