Opinion
NO. 2016-CA-001393-MR
01-19-2018
JEREMY SHIELDS APPELLANT v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY APPELLEE
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: Jeremy Shields Pro se West Liberty, Kentucky BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Andy Beshear Attorney General of Kentucky Frankfort, Kentucky James C. Shackelford Assistant Attorney General Frankfort, Kentucky
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED APPEAL FROM HARDIN CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE KEN M. HOWARD, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 09-CR-00075 OPINION
AFFIRMING
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BEFORE: KRAMER, CHIEF JUDGE; JOHNSON AND JONES, JUDGES. KRAMER, CHIEF JUDGE: Jeremy Shields, proceeding pro se, appeals the Hardin Circuit Court's order denying his CR 60.02 motion for relief from judgment. After a careful review of the record, we affirm because Shields's claims either were raised previously, or they could have been.
Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure.
Jeremy Shields entered a guilty plea to the charges of capital murder, first-degree rape, and tampering with physical evidence. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder conviction; fifteen years of imprisonment for the rape conviction; and three years of imprisonment for the tampering with physical evidence conviction. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently for a total of life imprisonment, with Shields being ineligible for parole for twenty years. See Shields v. Commonwealth, No. 2012-CA-001660-MR, 2014 WL 272377, *1 (Ky. App. Jan. 24, 2014).
Shields moved to vacate his sentence pursuant to RCr 11.42. The circuit court denied his motion. He appealed, and this Court affirmed. Id.
Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure. --------
He then filed a CR 60.02 motion for relief from judgment. The circuit court denied that motion, as well.
On appeal, we review the denial of a CR 60.02 motion for an abuse of discretion. See White v. Commonwealth, 32 S.W.3d 83, 86 (Ky. App. 2000). "Civil Rule 60.02 is not intended merely as an additional opportunity to relitigate the same issues which could reasonably have been presented by direct appeal or RCr 11.42 proceedings." McQueen v. Commonwealth, 948 S.W.2d 415, 416 (Ky. 1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). Civil Rule 60.02 "is not a separate avenue of appeal to be pursued in addition to other remedies, but is available only to raise issues which cannot be raised in other proceedings." Id. "The [CR 60.02] movant must demonstrate why he is entitled to this special, extraordinary relief. Before the movant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing, he must affirmatively allege facts which, if true, justify vacating the judgment and further allege special circumstances that justify CR 60.02 relief." Gross v. Commonwealth, 648 S.W.2d 853, 856 (Ky. 1983). Additionally, claims brought under CR 60.02(a), (b), or (c) must be brought within one year after the judgment is entered, and claims brought under the remaining sections of CR 60.02 must be brought within a "reasonable time." See CR 60.02.
In the present case, all of Shields's claims could have been brought previously. In fact, in his RCr 11.42 motion, he did allege claims that counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by coercing him into pleading guilty and by failing to investigate. See Shields, No. 2012-CA-001660-MR, 2014 WL 272377, at *1 (Ky. App. Jan. 24, 2014). Consequently, because all of his claims either were raised previously, or they could have been raised previously, they are not properly before us in this CR 60.02 proceeding.
Accordingly, the order of the Hardin Circuit Court is affirmed.
ALL CONCUR. BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: Jeremy Shields
Pro se
West Liberty, Kentucky BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Andy Beshear
Attorney General of Kentucky
Frankfort, Kentucky James C. Shackelford
Assistant Attorney General
Frankfort, Kentucky