9 results for 'judge:"Kellum"'.
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant for manslaughter after he allegedly struck the victim with a car. Defendant has not shown that he is entitled to relief in connection with his requested jury instruction. Also, there was no abuse of discretion in the lower court’s handling of an unsolicited statement defendant made to a police officer during transport. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: CR-2023-0611, Categories: Evidence, Manslaughter, Vehicle
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant on multiple counts of voyeurism but improperly sentenced him. The lower court did not err by admitting evidence of certain Internet searches that were extracted from defendant's phone. The court notes that the probationary terms of the split sentences are unlawful, however, and the matter is remanded for another sentencing hearing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: CR-2023-0008, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Probation, Sentencing
J. Kellum finds that the lower court improperly revoked defendant's community-corrections sentence. Defendant had been given a split sentence in which "he was ordered to serve 2 years in community corrections, followed by 5 years' supervised probation," based on his guilty plea to a firearm charge and receiving stolen property. The revocation order was based on insufficient evidence. Reversed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: CR-2023-0843, Categories: Evidence, Probation, Sentencing
J. Kellum finds that the lower court properly dismissed defendant's second petition for post-conviction relief following his conviction for capital murder and death sentence. The Rule 32 petition argued that "a second attempt to execute him" would represent cruel and unusual punishment, after the first attempt had allegedly failed due to complications with the IV lines. On appeal, he contends that the lower court erred by dismissing his petition without an evidentiary hearing, but the claim was not sufficiently pleaded and is also meritless. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Kellum, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: CR-2023-0594, Categories: Death Penalty, Murder, Cruel And Unusual Punishment
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
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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. 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. 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