Opinion
C.C.A. No. 02C01-9709-CC-00360.
August 4, 1999.
Appeal from Fayette County, Hon. Jon Kerry Blackwood, Judge
AFFIRMED
For The Appellant:
David Crichton
For The Appellee:
John Knox Walkup, Attorney General Reporter, Douglas D. Himes Assistant Attorney General
On November 2, 1998, we filed an opinion in this case reversing the judgment of the trial court, which dismissed the petition of Meeks. We set aside and reentered the judgment of this court on that date to give Meeks an opportunity to petition the Supreme Court under Rule 11, Supreme Court Rules, for a review of his conviction.
Counsel for Meeks withdrew from the case and mailed a copy of the order to Meeks at his home address, 110 McKinney Street, Holy Springs, Mississippi 38635, which was the last address for Meeks known by counsel and reflected in the record.
We held this action by counsel was not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Rule 14 of the Rules of the Supreme Court because Rule 14 requires the clerk to mail a copy of the order, which relieves counsel in a case after the judgment of this court is entered. The record before us did not show that this had been done.
The Supreme Court granted the State's application for review for the purpose of allowing the State to supplement the record. The State did so, and the Supreme Court on June 21, 19997 remanded the case to us for reconsideration based upon the supplement of the record.
The supplemental record shows that on August 14, 1996, the clerk of the Supreme Court mailed to Meeks at his address, known by the clerk at that time, the information and document required by Rule 14.
The record as now structured shows Meeks was not denied the right to petition the Supreme Court for permission to appeal by reason of any failure of a state agency to comply with Rule 14. We therefore, upon the reconsideration ordered by the Supreme Court set aside our previous judgment, and upon this record affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The cost of this appeal is taxed to the State.
________________________________ John K. Byers, Senior Judge
CONCUR:
_______________________________________________________________ David H. Welles, Judge
_______________________________________________________________ Jerry L. Smith, Judge
I concur with majority's conclusion that the appellant must be denied post-conviction relief and that therefore the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. However, I write separately to express my continued adherence to the position set out in my dissenting opinion in the original appeal of this case. It is still my belief that the failure of a trial court clerk to send a defendant the notice of withdrawal of counsel after an initial appeal is merely a violation of a court rule, Rule 14 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court, is not an error of constitutional magnitude and cannot form the basis of post-conviction relief.
The judgment of the trial court should be AFFIRMED.
______________________________ JERRY L. SMITH, JUDGE