Kentucky Post-Conviction Remedies and the Judicial Development of Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.42 John S
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Kentucky Law Journal Volume 83 | Issue 2 Article 2 1994 Kentucky Post-Conviction Remedies and the Judicial Development of Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.42 John S. Gillig Office ofh t e Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj Part of the Criminal Procedure Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Gillig, John S. (1994) "Kentucky Post-Conviction Remedies and the Judicial Development of Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.42," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 83 : Iss. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol83/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky Law Journal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kentucky Law Journal VOLUME 83 1994-95 NUMBER 2 Kentucky Post-Conviction Remedies and the Judicial Development of Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.42 BY JOHN S. GILLIG* TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................. 267 I. BACKGROUND: THE THEORY OF THE VOIDABLE JUDGMENT AND MODERN POST-CONVICTION REVIEw ................. 274 II. THE FEDERAL COURTS INCREASE THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN STATE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. ....................... 279 A. FederalHabeas Corpus from Its Origins to 1938 .... 280 B. FederalHabeas Corpus from 1938 to 1963 ........ 287 C. Federal Habeas Corpus After 1963 .............. 289 * Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Special Counsel; former Director, Criminal Appellate Division, 1988-1992, Office ofthe Attorney General, Frankfort, Kentucky. BA. 1973, Hanover College; J.D. 1975, University of Kentucky; MA. 1980, University of Virginia. The author acknowledges his debt to an early unpublished work of Kay Alley, Post- Conviction Relief Digest (Judicial Conference and Judicial Council 1972; reissued by the Office of the Attorney General 1972). This excellent but sadly dated handbook was the inspiration for a practice manual written by the author and distributed to prosecutors statewide as the Kentucky Post-Conviction Manual (Office of the Attorney General 1990). The author also acknowledges the assistance and legal insight of Assistant Attorney General Ian Sonego, who privately reviewed drafts of this Article at various stages and always provided valuable additions and suggestions. Needless to say, the opinions expressed here are those of the author alone. KENTUCKY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 83 IH. VOIDABLE JUDGMENTS: KENTUCKY'S FIRST POST-CONVICTION REMEDIES EMERGE FROM COMMON LAW WRITS ......... 295 A. Habeas Corpus in Kentucky ................... 296 1. 1792 to the Early Twentieth Century .......... 296 2. 1937 to 1963 ........................... 304 3. After Enactment of RCr 11.42 ............... 309 a. Judgment Void Ab Initio ................ 311 b. PretrialDetention ..................... 312 c. Extradition and Loss of Jurisdiction ........ 314 d Probation, Parole, and "Good Time"....... 315 e. Other Available Uses .................. 317 B. Coram Nobis in Kentucky ..................... 319 1. 1792 to the Early Twentieth Century .......... 320 2. Jones v. Commonwealth (1937) .............. 321 3. ProceduralAspects to 1963 ................. 325 4. Since Enactment of CR 60.02 ............... 330 IV. HIGH COURT RULE MAKING AND KENTUCKY RULE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 11.42 ....................... 334 A. Code Revision and the Enactment of RCr 11.42 ..... 334 B. The Number and Pattern of Claims .............. 340 V. APPLYING FOR RELIEF AND PROCESSING THE MOTION ...... 344 A. General Principles .............. ............ 345 1. Constitutional Grounds for Attack ............ 345 2. Burden of Proof ............. ............ 346 3. Timing the Motion ........... ............ 346 4. Successive Motions ........... ............ 349 5. Other ProceduralBars ........ ............ 351 B. Pleading Requirements ........... ............ 354 1. Basis for Complaint .......... ............ 354 2. Supporting Facts ............ ............ 355 3. Substantial Compliance ........ ............ 356 4. Custody ................... ............ 357 C. Indigents and Prisoners Proceeding ProSe ........ 360 1. Transcripts ............................ 2. Appointment of Counsel ................... 3. Standards for Pro Se Motions ............... 4. Presence of the Movant at Hearings .......... D. Response, Hearing, and Duties of Trial Court ...... 1. Commonwealth's Response ................. 2. Evidentiary Hearing ...................... 3. Duties of Trial Court and Appellate Court ...... 1994-95] KENTUCKY POST-CONVICTION REMEDIES E. Mandamus and Reopening of RCr 11.42 Proceedings ............................... 375 VI. RECENT AND PROPOSED MEASURES FOR REFORM ......... 376 A. The 1994 Reform Amendment .................. 380 1. Time Limitation ......................... 380 2. Laches ............................... 385 B. Unfinished Business: Additional Proposalsfor Reform .................................. 387 1. Appeal from the Denial of an RCr 11.42 Motion Should Be Discretionary ............. 387 2. Summary Dismissal and Hearing Procedure .... 390 3. Use of a Form Motion and Other Changes ..... 392 V11. RESOLUTION OF SUBSTANn E ISSUES UNDER RC. 11.42 ... 393 A. The Needfor Adequate Counsel ................ 395 B. Provision of Counsel ........................ 398 1. Failure to Appoint ....................... 398 2. Failure to Perform ....................... 403 3. Application of the Performance Standard ...... 408 4. Appellate Review of Counsel's Performance ..... 414 C. Attacking a Guilty Plea ...................... 415 D. Sentencing Error ........................... 420 E. Venue ................................... 422 F. Evidence ................................. 423 1. Searches and Seizures .................... 424 2. Confessions ............................ 425 3. Persistent Felony Offender (Habitual Criminal) .. 425 4. Other Evidentiary Claims .................. 426 G. Jury .................................... 427 H. Waiver by Guilty Plea ....................... 429 I. Pretrial Publicity ........................... 431 J. Presence and Competence of the Accused .......... 432 K Bail ..................................... 435 L. Indictment ................................ 436 M. Pretrial Delays or Failure to Hold PretrialHearings . 437 N Miscellaneous Grounds ....................... 438 CONCLUSION .................................. 440 NTRODUCTION Providing a person imprisoned by a jailer, warden, or other public official with the ability to challenge the justness of confinement through legal process is not a new idea. The roots of this concept predate the KENTUCKY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 83 Magna Charta of 1215, which states: "No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned ... but by lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land."' English common law has long recognized the right of an individual to seek a writ of habeas corpus from a competent court in order to compel the government agent to bring the prisoner before the bench. The availability of this writ was recognized in medieval England as a fundamental protection of free citizens against the power of the crown.2 Acknowledging the need for such protection in a republic and following forms of law imported from England during the colonial period, the framers of the Constitution of the United States specifically provided that "[t]he Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."' As is typical among the states, Kentucky has used almost identical language in each version of its constitution to insure that an imprisoned citizen of the Commonwealth may petition state courts for a writ of habeas corpus to test the legality of his or her detention.4 The early constitutional, statutory, and common law remedies afforded by federal and state habeas corpus were not aimed primarily at freeing an unjustly incarcerated defendant after conviction.5 That use of habeas corpus came later.6 In Kentucky, as in all the states, other well-established remedies were available for that pur- pose. Early Kentucky statutes and the common law recognized and used the post-judgment remedies of new trial7 writ of error,' ap- ' KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 843 (Michie/Bobbs-Merrill 1988). 2 DONALD E. WILES, JR., FEDERAL AND STATE PosTcONVICTION REMEDIES § 2-2 (1992) [hereinafter WILKES, PoSTcONvIcION REMEDIEs] (discussing the writ of habeas corpus in England). 3 U.S. CONST. art. I, § 9, cl. 2. 4 KY. CONST. art. XII, § 16 (1792) ("The privilege of the writ ofhabeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."); id art. X, § 16 (1799); id art. XIII, § 18 (1850); id. § 16 (1892). Only minor variations in punctuation differentiate the texts. 'WILKES, POSTCONVICTION REMEDIES, supra note 2, § 3-1 (discussing the writ of habeas corpus in North America). 6Id. §§ 3-3, 3-7, 3-9. Prior to full development of the direct appeal in the modem era, the motion for new trial was a primary means of attempting to reverse an adverse judgment of a Kentucky trial court. Its importance is indicated by the large number of reported cases of an early date. See, e.g., W.W. FRY ET AL., AN ANALYrCAL DIGEsT OF THE DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS Op KENTucKY 290-96 (1852). ' Loudon