52 results for 'court:"Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals"'.
Per curiam, the court of criminal appeals grants this petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which the petitioner seeks the reinstatement of his $50,000 bail. The pre-trial detention hearing was reopened without the state moving for its reopening.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: CR-2023-0325, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Habeas, Bail
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the court of criminal appeals denies these three consolidated petitions for writ of mandamus, in which the petitioners challenge certain rulings in the underlying criminal case. The state seeks the recusal of the judge, while the petitioners jointly seek an order directing the judge to accept a plea agreement. The judge did not abuse his discretion, however, by refusing to grant the parties' second plea agreement. Also, the state has not shown that the judge is biased against it.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: CR-2022-0966, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Plea
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J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder and sentenced him as a habitual felony offender to life imprisonment without parole. Defendant argues there was error in the denial of his motions to remove certain jurors for cause, but any error was harmless, as he used his peremptory strikes to remove the two jurors. Additionally, there was no error in his sentence under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-2022-0789, Categories: Jury, Murder, Sentencing
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of capital murder and sentenced him to death. Contrary to defendant's argument on appeal, there was no error in the denial of his motion for a change of venue, as he failed to establish that "he could not receive a fair and impartial trial in St. Clair County" due to the media coverage of the case. Also, there was no error in the method of voir dire. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-21-0283, Categories: Death Penalty, Jury, Murder
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly denied the state relief on certain pretrial matters in this capital murder case. There was no error in excluding a fire report or the testimony of a former police officer. However, the issue regarding the outcome of the codefendant's trial is not properly before the court, and that part of the appeal is due to be dismissed. Affirmed in part.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-2022-1003, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Murder
J. Minor finds that the lower court properly resentenced defendant to life imprisonment without parole following a capital murder conviction. Defendant, who was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, fails to show that the lower court abused its discretion in assessing his statements of remorse. He is also due no relief as to the victim-impact evidence or his argument that the sentence is "unconstitutionally disproportionate." Additionally, the sentence of life imprisonment without parole is not "disproportionate when compared to other cases." Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Minor, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-20-0654, Categories: Juvenile Law, Murder, Sentencing
J. McCool finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's Rule 32 petition seeking post-conviction relief following his conviction for capital murder. He argues ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with "the presentation of a self-defense theory." However, he does not show that he was prejudiced by any allegedly deficient performance. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-21-0148, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder, Self Defense
J. Kellum remands this case to the lower court to allow the defendant to present evidence in support of his claim regarding a prior Rule 32 petition, which challenged his conviction and sentence for felony murder. He argues that he failed to appeal the dismissal of the prior petition "through no fault of his own." The court concludes that the current petition is not successive and that he is entitled to present his evidence.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-2023-0287, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Murder
J. McCool finds on application for rehearing that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's Rule 32 petition challenging his conviction for capital murder. He argues the lower court erred "by adopting verbatim the State's proposed order," but the record does not show that it was "not the product of the court's independent judgment." Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-20-0537, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Murder
J. McCool finds that the lower court improperly dismissed the charges against defendant following a pretrial hearing. Defendant argued that the charges were a result of "predatory police practices" and that the traffic stop was illegal. However, the lower court was not authorized to dismiss the charges based on "a pretrial determination of credibility." Reversed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: CR-2023-0061, Categories: Criminal Procedure
Per curiam, the court of criminal appeals dismisses this petition for a writ of mandamus, challenging the denial of defendant's motion to dismiss an indictment "based upon his claim of immunity." The mandamus petition was untimely filed, and an alleged delay by the court reporter "does not constitute good cause."
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: CR-2023-0229, Categories: Criminal Procedure
J. Minor finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's petition for post-conviction relief, challenging a capital murder conviction and the resulting death sentence. Defendant argues he should have been allowed to further amend his petition, but any error by the lower court was harmless, as the claims were "insufficiently pleaded." Defendant failed to plead "the name of a single expert that trial counsel should have consulted or used at trial." Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Minor, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: CR-19-1040, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Death Penalty, Murder
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's petition for post-conviction relief following his convictions for sodomy and sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. Defendant argued that there was juror misconduct during voir dire, specifically as to one juror's answers regarding his kinship to a witness. However, the claim was precluded under Rule 32, as the information "could reasonably have been discovered at trial." Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: CR-2022-1285, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Jury, Sex Offender
J. McCool finds that the lower court improperly denied by operation of law defendant's motion for a new trial, following his conviction for sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. Defendant is entitled to a hearing on his allegation that a witness said he heard the victim say the alleged incident "did not happen." Reversed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: CR-2022-0651, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Sex Offender