William Lee Henderson v. State

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE FILED APRIL SESSION, 1999 April 30, 1999 Cecil W. Crowson WILLIAM LEE HENDERSON, ) Appellate Court Clerk C.C.A. NO. 01C01-9808-CR-00338 ) Appe llant, ) ) ) DAVIDSON COUNTY VS. ) ) HON. J. RANDALL WYATT, JR. STATE OF TENNESSEE ) JUDGE and FLORA J. HOLLAND, ) WARDEN, ) ) Appellees. ) (Habeas Corpus) ON APPEAL FROM THE JUDGMENT OF THE CRIMINAL COURT OF DAVIDSON COUNTY FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE: WILLIAM LEE HENDERSON PAUL G. SUMMERS Pro Se Attorney General and Reporter 7575 Cockrill Bend Industrial Road Nashville, TN 37209-1057 KIM R. HELPER Assistant Attorney General 425 Fifth Avenu e North Nashville, TN 37243-0493 VICTOR S. JOHNSON District Attorney General Washington Square Building 222 Se cond A venue N orth Nashville, TN 37201 OPINION FILED ________________________ AFFIRMED IN ACCOR DANCE W ITH RULE 20 DAVID H. WELLES, JUDGE ORDER The Defe ndan t, W illiam Lee H enderson , appeals from the summ ary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The Defendant was convicted of robbery, kidnapping with intent to rob, and criminal sexual conduct in the first degre e. His direct app eal to the s tate supreme court was entertained in 1981,1 and he subsequently filed a writ of ha beas c orpus in 1 998, alleg ing, in part, ineffective assistance of counsel. The petition was dismissed on July 2, 1998. On appeal to this Court, the Defendant complains that he was afforded neither a hearing on his petition for habea s corpus relief nor a n opportu nity to amend his petition; that he was n ot afford ed co unse l to aid h im in p repar ing his petition; that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial; and that the jury select ion pro cess at his tria l was u nfair. In a ddition, he c omp lains that the judge who p resided over his trial was subsequently charged with accepting bribes from defendants appearing before him, and the Defendant asserts that this fact provid es him groun ds for a new tria l. In Tennessee, habeas corpus relief is available “on ly when ‘it appears upon the face of the judgment or the record of the proceedings upon which the judgment is rendered’ that a c onvicting court was without jurisdiction o r authority to sentence a defendant, or that a defendant’s sentence of imprisonment or other restraint has expired.” Archer v. State, 851 S.W .2d 157, 164 (Tenn. 199 3); Pass arella v. State, 891 S.W .2d 619, 626 -28 (Tenn . Crim. App. 19 94). Furthermore, “a petition for a writ of habeas corpus may be summarily dismissed 1 State v. Henderson, 620 S.W.2d 484 (Tenn. 1981). -2- by the trial court without appointment of counsel, without an evidentiary hearing, and without the opportunity to amend the petition, if the face of the petition does not present a co gnizable claim .” Mathis Martin v. S tate, No. 01C01-9801-CR- 00013, 1999 WL 182140, at *2 (Tenn. C rim. App., Na shville, March 30, 19 99); see also Tenn . Code Ann. § 4 0-14-20 4. Here, the Defendant does not allege that the court which convic ted him was without jurisdiction, nor does he allege that his sentence has expired. Rather, he allege s groun ds which , if proven, m ight give rise to post-co nviction relief. Althoug h a trial cou rt may trea t a petition for habeas corpus relief as one for post-conviction relief, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-205(c), we note that the Defe ndan t’s claim for post-co nviction relief h as long s ince bee n time-b arred. See id. § 40-30 -102 (rep ealed in 1 995 an d replace d by § 40 -30-202 ). According ly, we find no error in the trial court’s dismissal of the D efend ant’s petition for habe as corp us relief. Based upon a thorough reading of the record, the briefs of the parties, and the law governing the issues presented for review, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed in accordance with Rule 20 of the Court of Crimin al Appe als of Te nness ee. ____________________________________ DAVID H. WELLES, JUDGE -3- CONCUR: ___________________________________ JOHN H. PEAY, JUDGE ___________________________________ JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., JUDGE -4-