Amerson v. State
| Docket Number: | 2009-CP-00389-COA Linked Case(s): 2009-CP-00389-COA ; 2009-CT-00389-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-16-2010 Opinion Author: Irving, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Time bar - Section 99-39-5 - Illegal sentence - Habitual offender status - Section 99-19-81 Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Griffis, Barnes, Ishee, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Roberts, J. Procedural History: PCR Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-12-2009 Appealed from: Lauderdale County Circuit Court Judge: Lester F. Williamson Disposition: MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DENIED Case Number: 09-CV-014 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | JOE LOUIS AMERSON, JR. |
PRO SE |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: W. GLENN WATTS | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Time bar - Section 99-39-5 - Illegal sentence - Habitual offender status - Section 99-19-81 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Joe Amerson pled guilty to robbery and was sentenced to fifteen years as a habitual offender. Amerson filed a motion for post-conviction relief which alleged that one of his previous felony convictions in Mississippi had occurred in 1975, which was two years prior to the effective date of section 99-19-81, the habitual offender statute. The circuit court found that Amerson’s PCR motion was untimely, as well as without merit. Amerson appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Amerson argues that his PCR motion is not time-barred because the sentence given to him is illegal, thus implicating a fundamental right. An illegal sentence may implicate a fundamental right and that a claim implicating a fundamental right may be excepted from the three-year time bar of section 99-39-5. However, the mere assertion of a constitutional violation is not sufficient to overcome the time bar. Section 99-19-81 became effective on January 1, 1977. A plain reading of this law does not require underlying felony convictions to have occurred after the statute’s effective date. Moreover, Amerson fails to cite any legal authority for this proposition. In addition, the record shows that he had been convicted of five felonies in Florida, four in 1988 and one 1986. Amerson also argues that his sentence is illegal because his plea was entered unknowingly and involuntarily. The record shows that Amerson was advised by the circuit court that if he did not take the plea, the State could try him upon the charge that he ultimately pleaded guilty to, as well as the other four felony charges that were pending in Lauderdale County, and if he was convicted upon any of those charges, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. There was no coercion involved in Amerson’s entry of his guilty plea. |
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