Case Title: James Kenneth Anderson v. Terry Cass, Administrator, Post-Prison Transfer Board, Arkansas Department of Correction

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: arkansas

Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Date: 2002-02-14T00:00:00Z

Document:
ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION PER CURIAM FEBRUARY 14, 2002 JAMES KENNETH ANDERSON Appellant v. TERRY CASS, Administrator, Post-Prison Transfer Board, Arkansas Department of Correction Appellee 01-430 APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LINCOLN COUNTY, NO. LCIV 2001-3-3, HONORABLE FRED D. DAVIS III, JUDGE AFFIRMED Appellant pled guilty under a negotiated plea agreement to second-degree murder and was sentenced to forty years' imprisonment. Miller County Circuit Judge Jim Hudson executed a departure report reflecting that the upward departure in appellant's sentence was due to the negotiated plea. In 2000, appellant filed a petition for writ of mandamus in Lincoln County Circuit Court, claiming that the forty-year sentence was a departure from the presumptive sentence range and illegal because his judgment and commitment were not accompanied by a report containing written reasons for the departure. Appellee responded, arguing that the Miller County Circuit Court made an upward departure from the presumptive sentence on the basis that it was a negotiated plea under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-804(b)(2)(A)-(B). Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-804(b)(2)(A)-(B): If both sides agree on a recommended sentence, the judge may choose to accept or reject the agreement based upon the facts of the case and whether those facts support the presumptive sentence or a departure different from any recommendation. If there is an agreed departure from the presumptive sentence, written reasons shall be supplied by the parties to the court to attach to the commitment and to forward to the Arkansas Sentencing Commission. Moreover, the commentary to section 16-90-804(b)(2)(A)-(B) provides: Negotiated pleas have previously constituted a large majority of the dispositions which result in sentences. The sentencing standards clearly contemplate this practice continuing with the applicability of the presumptive sentence for a typical case being the subject of negotiation between prosecutor and defense counsel. The specific facts of a case may support aggravating or mitigating departure criteria which may be agreed upon and an agreed sentence anywhere within the range may be recommended. The Lincoln County Circuit Court agreed with appellee and entered an amended order denying appellant's petition for writ of mandamus. In 2001, appellant filed a petition in Lincoln County Circuit Court requesting mandamus and declaratory relief. Appellant again petitioned the court for the same relief requested in his previous writ of mandamus filed in 2000. The court denied the petition holding that appellant's claim was barred under the doctrine of res judicata. According to this doctrine: [R]elitigation in a subsequent suit is barred when (1) the first suit resulted in a judgment on the merits; (2) the first suit was based upon proper jurisdiction; (3) the first suit was fully contested in good faith; (4) both suits involve the same claim or cause of action which was litigated or could have been litigated but was not; and (5) both suits involve the same parties or their privies. American Standard, Inc. v. Miller Engineering, Inc., 299 Ark. 347, 350-51, 772 S.W.2d 344, 346 (1989). It should be noted that appellant failed to produce a record on appeal sufficient to demonstrate error; however, appellee has provided a supplemental abstract. Nevertheless, appellant is barred from relitigating the same issue previously decided against him. Accordingly, the circuit court's denial of appellant's second petition is affirmed. Affirmed.