Hutchinson v. State

510 S.W.3d 245

Dennis HUTCHINSON, Petitioner

v.STATE of Arkansas, Respondent

No. CR–09–596

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Opinion Delivered February 23, 2017

PER CURIAM

Petitioner, Dennis Hutchinson, was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder and was sentenced under a firearm-enhancement provision to an aggregate term of 540 months' imprisonment. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Hutchinson v. State , 2010 Ark. App. 235, 2010 WL 816253.

Now before this court are Hutchinson's pro se application to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court to consider a petition for writ of error coram nobis and a motion for appointment of counsel. For the reasons set forth below, we deny the petition, and the motion for appointment of counsel is therefore moot.

We first note that a petition filed in this court for leave to proceed in the trial court where the judgment was entered is necessary because the trial court can entertain a petition for writ of error coram nobis after a judgment has been affirmed on appeal only after we grant permission. Roberts v. State , 2013 Ark. 56, at 11, 425 S.W.3d 771, 778.

The function of the writ of error coram nobis is to secure relief from a judgment rendered while there existed some fact that would have prevented the rendition of the judgment had it been known to the trial court and which, through no fault of the defendant, was not brought forward before rendition of the judgment. Newman v. State , 2009 Ark. 539, at 5, 354 S.W.3d 61, 65. A writ of error coram nobis is an extraordinarily rare remedy more known for its denial than its approval. Howard v. State , 2012 Ark. 177, at 4, 403 S.W.3d 38, 42–43. Coram nobis proceedings are attended by a strong presumption that the judgment of conviction is valid. Id. The petitioner has the burden of demonstrating a fundamental error of fact extrinsic to the record. Id. We have held that a writ of error coram nobis is available for addressing certain errors that are found in one of four categories: (1) insanity at the time of trial, (2) a coerced guilty plea, (3) material evidence withheld by the prosecutor, or (4) a third-party confession to the crime during the time between conviction and appeal. Id.

Before addressing the merits of Hutchinson's claim for relief, it is necessary to review the evidence presented at trial in support of his conviction for the murder of Richard Ivey, who was the husband of Hutchinson's codefendant, Brenda Ivey. A review of the trial transcript reveals that at the time of the murder, Brenda had been living with Hutchinson for several months. Brenda testified at trial that Hutchinson had encouraged her to lure Richard to Hutchinson's home, claim that Richard had broken into the home with the intent to harm her, and assert that she had acted in self-defense when Richard was killed. Evidence introduced at trial demonstrated that Brenda and Richard had exchanged several text messages prior to the murder, wherein Brenda informed Richard that she intended to reconcile with him and, to that end, had asked Richard to come to Hutchinson's home to help move her belongings. According to Brenda, when Richard walked into the house, she shot and wounded him, and Hutchinson prevented Richard from escaping and delivered the fatal gunshot. Brenda's testimony was corroborated by Richard's two co-workers, Saul DeLeon and Johnathon Mahoney, who, at Richard's request, had followed him in a separate vehicle to Hutchinson's home to help with the move. DeLeon and Mahoney testified that they watched as Richard readily entered the house, and, as they waited for Richard to come back outside, they heard a popping noise and then observed Hutchinson step out of the front door, pick up a shovel and break a window. The crux of Hutchinson's defense at trial and on appeal was that Hutchinson had acted in self-defense. See Hutchinson , 2010 Ark. App. 235, at 3 (rejecting Hutchinson's argument that the jury should have been instructed on the existence of a presumption that a person may use force to defend himself in his home unless that presumption was overcome by clear and convincing evidence).

In support of his claim for coram-nobis relief, Hutchinson now contends that he was incompetent at the time of trial and recounts a history of child abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from his military service in the Vietnam War. According to Hutchinson, physicians with the Veterans Administration diagnosed him with PTSD, placed him in a mental ward, and determined that he was totally disabled as a result of the diagnosis. Hutchinson further contends that preceding the murder, he began to experience flashbacks and bouts of paranoia, which he attempted to alleviate with the use of methamphetamine. Rather than alleviate his symptoms, Hutchinson contends that his drug use exacerbated his PTSD, making the flashbacks more frequent and prolonged. Finally, Hutchinson states that in the months leading up to his trial, he suffered from severe...