Lewis v. State


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Docket Number: 2007-CP-00261-COA
Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 08-12-2008
Opinion Author: ROBERTS, J.
Holding: Affirmed
Additional Case Information: Topic: Post-conviction relief - Time bar - M.R.A.P. 4(a) - Ineffective assistance of counsel
Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE AND CARLTON, JJ.
Procedural History: PCR
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 12-30-2006
Appealed from: Harrison County Circuit Court
Judge: Kosta N. Vlahos
Disposition: DENIED MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
Case Number: A2401-05-238
  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: TOMMY L. LEWIS A/K/A TOMMY LEE LEWIS, SR.




 TOMMY L. LEWIS (PRO SE)



  
  • Appellant #1 Brief
    		•
    Appellee: STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: LISA LYNN BLOUNT  
    Synopsis provided by:

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    Topic: Post-conviction relief - Time bar - M.R.A.P. 4(a) - Ineffective assistance of counsel
    Summary of the Facts: Tommy Lewis entered an open plea of guilty to one count of touching a child for lustful purposes. He was sentenced to fifteen years, with three years suspended. Lewis filed a petition for post-conviction collateral relief which was denied. He appeals.
    Summary of Opinion Analysis: The State argues that Lewis’s motion is time-barred because it was filed after the three-year limitation period. When a prisoner’s notice of appeal is stamped filed within a reasonable time after the expiration of the time allowed by M.R.A.P. 4(a), a rebuttable presumption exists that it was timely filed. The record shows that Lewis pled guilty and was sentenced on September 13, 2002. Additionally, his motion for post-conviction collateral relief is stamped filed on September 21, 2005. However, the motion itself is dated September 12, 2005, and is notarized to that fact. Because Lewis’s petition was stamped filed within a reasonable period of time after the expiration of the Act’s three-year limitation, and the State failed to overcome the presumption of timeliness, the State’s claim is without merit. Lewis also argues that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. Because the outcome of Lewis’s plea would admittedly not have been different, his ineffective assistance of counsel claim must fail on its face.


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