Opinion
No. CV-19-639
02-06-2020
ANTHONY REED APPELLANT v. W. STRAUGHN, WARDEN, ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION APPELLEE
Anthony L. Reed, pro se appellant. Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Adam Jackson, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.
PRO SE APPEAL FROM THE JEFFERSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[NO. 35CV-19-37] HONORABLE JODI RAINES DENNIS, JUDGE APPEAL DISMISSED. JOHN DAN KEMP, Chief Justice
Appellant Anthony Reed appeals the circuit court's denial of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated sections 16-112-101 to -123 (Repl. 2016). Reed, who was incarcerated in Jefferson County when he filed his petition, lodged an appeal from its denial, and submitted his brief-in-chief, was later transferred to another prison facility and is currently incarcerated in Lincoln County.
Reed was found guilty in a jury trial of aggravated robbery, theft of property, felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of second-degree battery. As a habitual offender, he was sentenced to an aggregate term of 900 months' imprisonment. The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences. Reed v. State, CACR 01-707 (Ark. App. Feb. 27, 2002) (unpublished).
Any petition for writ of habeas corpus to effect the release of a prisoner is properly addressed to the circuit court in which the prisoner is held in custody, unless the petition is filed pursuant to Act 1780. See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-112-201 to -208 (Repl. 2016). Although a circuit court may have subject-matter jurisdiction to issue the writ, a court does not have personal jurisdiction to issue and make returnable before itself a writ of habeas corpus to release a petitioner held in another county. Perry v. State, 2018 Ark. 14, 535 S.W.3d 264; see Mackey v. Lockhart, 307 Ark. 321, 819 S.W.2d 702 (1991). Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-105 (Repl. 2016) requires that the writ be directed to the person in whose custody the petitioner is detained. Id. Accordingly, although Reed was incarcerated in Jefferson County when he filed the habeas petition and proceeded with this pending appeal, a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Jefferson County Circuit Court could not be returned because he is no longer within its jurisdiction.
Appeal dismissed.
HART, J., dissents.
JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, Justice, dissenting. I dissent for the reasons stated in Ramirez v. Kelley, 2019 Ark. 406, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Hart, J., dissenting). If habeas corpus proceedings can be disposed of so easily as moving the prisoner to a facility in another county, then the "great writ" has no teeth. "This court should not condone, much less become an active participant in, such a shell game." Id. at 3 (citing Noble v. State, 2018 Ark. 2, at 3, 534 S.W.3d 717, 718 (Hart, J., dissenting)).
Anthony L. Reed, pro se appellant.
Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Adam Jackson, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.