Case Title: Ex parte Mario Dewayne Acoff. PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS (In re: Mario Dewayne Acoff v. State of Alabama)

Citation: 

Docket Number: 1081306

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

Document:
REL: 12/18/2009 
Notice: T h i s 
o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
r e v i s i o n b e f o r e 
p u b l i c a t i o n i n t h e advance 
s h e e t s o f Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e 
r e q u e s t e d t o n o t i f y t h e 
Reporter of 
Decisions, 
Alabama 
A p p e l l a t e 
C o u r t s , 
300 D e x t e r Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 
((334) 
2 2 9 - 0 6 4 9 ) , o f any t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r o t h e r e r r o r s , i n o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may be made 
b e f o r e t h e o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
OCTOBER TERM, 2009-2010 
1081306 
Ex p a r t e Mario Dewayne A c o f f 
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI 
TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS 
( I n r e : Mario Dewayne A c o f f 
v. 
S t a t e o f Alabama) 
( J e f f e r s o n C i r c u i t Court, Bessemer D i v i s i o n , CC-03-828.60; 
Court of C r i m i n a l Appeals, CR-08-0873) 
LYONS, 
J u s t i c e . 
M a r i o Dewayne A c o f f was c o n v i c t e d i n S e p t e m b e r 2004 o f 
f i r s t - d e g r e e r o b b e r y ; he was s e n t e n c e d t o 22 y e a r s i n p r i s o n . 
1081306 
On d i r e c t 
a p p e a l , t h e C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s a f f i r m e d h i s 
c o n v i c t i o n and s e n t e n c e , w i t h o u t an o p i n i o n . 
A c o f f v . S t a t e , 
926 So. 2d 1085 ( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 2005) 
( t a b l e ) . 
T h i s 
C o u r t 
d e n i e d 
h i s p e t i t i o n 
f o r a w r i t 
o f c e r t i o r a r i , 
w i t h o u t 
an 
o p i n i o n . 
Ex p a r t e A c o f f , 946 So. 2d 547 ( A l a . 2005) 
( t a b l e ) . 
On 
December 
10, 
2008, 
A c o f f 
f i l e d 
a 
p e t i t i o n f o r 
p o s t c o n v i c t i o n 
r e l i e f p u r s u a n t t o R u l e 32, A l a . 
R. C r i m . P., 
a l l e g i n g 
t h a t t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t was w i t h o u t 
j u r i s d i c t i o n t o 
r e n d e r t h e j u d g m e n t o r t o i m p o s e t h e s e n t e n c e i n h i s c a s e 
b e c a u s e , he s a i d , i t 
h a d f a i l e d t o s w e a r i n 
t h e 
members o f 
t h e 
j u r y 
v e n i r e 
o r t h e p e t i t 
j u r y . 
A f t e r t h e S t a t e 
f i l e d 
a 
r e s p o n s e , t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t 
d i s m i s s e d 
A c o f f ' s 
p e t i t i o n . 
The 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
a f f i r m e d 
t h e o r d e r 
d i s m i s s i n g 
A c o f f ' s R u l e 32 p e t i t i o n , w i t h o u t an o p i n i o n . 
A c o f f v. S t a t e 
(No. 
CR-08-0873, May 22, 2 0 0 9 ) , ___ So. 3d ___ ( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 2009) 
( t a b l e ) . 
A c o f f 
t h e n 
p e t i t i o n e d 
t h i s 
C o u r t f o r 
c e r t i o r a r i 
r e v i e w . 
We g r a n t e d h i s p e t i t i o n , and we 
a f f i r m . 
I n 
i t s u n p u b l i s h e d 
memorandum, 
t h e C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s 
s t a t e d : 
"A p o r t i o n o f t h e r e c o r d 
p r o v i d e d b y 
A c o f f 
r e f u t e s h i s c o n t e n t i o n " 
t h a t t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t 
e x c e e d e d i t s 
d i s c r e t i o n i n d i s m i s s i n g h i s 
p e t i t i o n , n o t i n g t h a t an e n t r y on 
2 
1081306 
t h e 
c a s e - a c t i o n 
summary 
d a t e d 
A u g u s t 
30, 
2004, 
s t a t e s : 
" ' . . . [ j ] u r y d u l y 
s e l e c t e d and s w o r n . ' " 
( Q u o t i n g c a s e 
a c t i o n 
summary.) 
The C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s 
c o n c l u d e d : 
" H e r e , 
A c o f f ' s 
a l l e g a t i o n 
i s 
c l e a r l y 
r e f u t e d 
b y 
t h e 
r e c o r d ; 
t h e r e f o r e , summary d i s m i s s a l was 
a p p r o p r i a t e . " 
A c o f f 
p r e s e n t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g f a c t s i n h i s p e t i t i o n f o r 
c e r t i o r a r i : 
" [ A c o f f ] s u b m i t s 
t h a t t h e Case A c t i o n 
Summary 
S h e e t , 
[ P e t i t i o n e r ' s E x h i b i t - A , 
(C. 2 5 ) ] , 
t e n d s t o 
r e f l e c t 
t h a t t h e p e t i t 
j u r y was d u l y 
s e l e c t e d and  
s w o r n 
[on] A u g u s t 
30, 2 
004; 
h o w e v e r , 
t h e 
C o u r t 
R e p o r t e r ' s 
T r a n s c r i p t , 
(C. 
2 9 - 3 0 ) , 
o f 
t h o s e 
p r o c e e d i n g s a f f i r m a t i v e l y r e f l e c t t h a t [on] t h a t d a y 
( A u g u s t 
30, 
2 0 0 4 ) , 
a t 1:45PM, 
t h e 
j u r y 
v e n i r e 
e n t e r e d t h e c o u r t r o o m and v o i r d i r e e x a m i n a t i o n o f 
t h e v e n i r e was c o n d u c t e d and t h e j u r y was 
s e l e c t e d 
and s e a t e d . (C. 28-29) 
" I n 
f a c t , 
t h e 
R e p o r t e r ' s 
T r a n s c r i p t , 
[ P e t i t i o n e r ' s E x h i b i t - B , (C. 2 9 - 3 0 ) ] , r e f l e c t s 
t h a t 
on 
t h a t 
d a y , A u g u s t 
30, 2004, 
t h e 
T r i a l 
C o u r t 
a d d r e s s e d t h e [ p e t i t ] 
j u r y i n t h e f o l l o w i n g : 
" ' Y o u r 
[ s i c ] a r e t h e j u r y t h a t ' s 
g o i n g t o 
be 
h e a r i n g 
t h i s 
c a s e ; 
a l l r i g h t ? 
I 
a p p r e c i a t e y o u r p a t i e n c e and a t t e n t i v e n e s s , 
y o u r w i l l i n g n e s s t o s e r v e . 
I am g o i n g t o 
g i v e you s o r t o f a t h u m b n a i l s k e t c h o f how 
we a r e g o i n g t o p r o c e e d t o m o r r o w , and t h e n 
I am g o i n g t o e x c u s e 
you f o r t h e d a y as 
w e l l . So, f i r s t 
t h i n g i n [ t ] h e | m o r n i n g ] ,  
I 
w i l l 
s w e a r you a l l i n as j u r o r s ; o k a y ? 
A f t e r 
t h a t , 
b o t h 
s i d e s 
w i l l 
have 
an 
o p p o r t u n i t y 
t o make what we 
c a l l 
o p e n i n g 
s t a t e m e n t s . ' (R. 10-11) 
3 
1081306 
" M o r e o v e r , 
t h e 
R e p o r t e r ' s 
T r a n s c r i p t , 
[ P e t i t i o n e r ' s E x h i b i t - B , 
(C. 3 2 - 3 3 ) ] , 
r e f l e c t s 
t h a t 
on t h e f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g , A u g u s t 31, 2004, t h e 
T r i a l 
C o u r t , 
a g a i n , 
f a i l e d 
t o 
a d m i n i s t e r 
t h e 
o a t h 
she 
commented 
on 
t h e 
p r e v i o u s 
e v e n i n g : 
i n s t e a d , 
a t 
10:41AM, t h e 
T r i a l C o u r t i n f o r m e d t h e 
j u r y t h a t 
t h e 
p r o c e e d i n g s 
w o u l d 
b e g i n 
w i t h 
o p e n i n g 
s t a t e m e n t s . 
The 
T r i a l C o u r t a d d r e s s e d t h e j u r y i n t h e 
f o l l o w i n g : 
"'As 
I 
e x p l a i n e d 
t o 
y e s t e r d a y , 
p r o c e d u r a l l y , t h e 
f i r s t t h i n g t h a t we w o u l d  
do t h i s m o r n i n g i s have o p e n i n g s t a t e m e n t s . 
The 
S t a t e 
g o e s 
f i r s t , 
and 
t h e n 
t h e 
d e f e n d a n t g o e s ; o k a y ? ' 
[R. 
5 5 - 5 6 ] " 
A c o f f ' s 
V e r i f i e d 
S t a t e m e n t 
o f 
F a c t s , 
pp. 
1-2 
( e m p h a s i s 
A c o f f ' s ) . 
A c o f f 
c o n t e n d e d 
i n 
h i s 
p e t i t i o n 
f o r 
c e r t i o r a r i 
r e v i e w 
t h a t 
t h e 
q u o t e d 
p o r t i o n 
o f 
t h e 
C o u r t 
o f 
C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s ' 
u n p u b l i s h e d memorandum c o n f l i c t s w i t h 
a u t h o r i t y h o l d i n g 
t h a t 
where t h e r e 
i s a c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n an e n t r y on t h e 
c a s e - a c t i o n 
summary 
("a 
m i n u t e 
e n t r y " ) 
and 
t h e 
c o u r t 
r e p o r t e r ' s 
t r a n s c r i p t , t h e a c t i o n must be remanded f o r t h e 
t r i a l c o u r t 
t o 
r e s o l v e t h e d i s c r e p a n c y 
i n t h e r e c o r d . 
He a r g u e s t h a t b e c a u s e 
t h e t r a n s c r i p t f r o m A u g u s t 30 r e c i t e s t h a t t h e j u r o r s w i l l 
be 
s w o r n on 
t h e n e x t day 
and b e c a u s e t h e 
t r a n s c r i p t f r o m A u g u s t 
31 shows t h e 
f i r s t p r o c e e d i n g as t h e o p e n i n g s t a t e m e n t s , t h e n 
t h e t r a n s c r i p t i s i n c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e m i n u t e e n t r y o f A u g u s t 
30 
r e c i t i n g 
t h e 
f a c t t h a t 
t h e 
j u r o r s were s w o r n . 
B e c a u s e 
o f 
4 
1081306 
t h a t 
c o n f l i c t , 
he 
a r g u e s , 
t h e 
t r i a l 
c o u r t 
s h o u l d 
h a v e 
c o n d u c t e d an e v i d e n t i a r y 
h e a r i n g . 
A c o f f ' s a r g u m e n t assumes t h a t t h e t r a n s c r i p t must 
r e f l e c t 
t h a t 
t h e 
j u r y was 
s w o r n i n o r d e r 
t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t 
t h a t 
has 
t a k e n p l a c e . 
B u t 
i n G a r d n e r v. 
S t a t e , 
48 
A l a . 
263 
(1872 ) , 
t h i s C o u r t h e l d t h a t a m i n u t e e n t r y s t a t i n g t h a t t h e j u r y 
was 
s w o r n i s s u f f i c i e n t 
t o a l l o w 
t h i s C o u r t t o p r e s u m e t h a t 
t h e 
j u r y was 
p r o p e r l y s w o r n . 
See 
a l s o Vaughn v. 
S t a t e , 
236 
A l a . 
442, 
445, 
183 
So. 
428, 
430 
( 1 9 3 8 ) , 
r e l y i n g 
on G a r d n e r 
("The 
r e c o r d d i s c l o s e s t h a t t h e 
j u r y was 
'sworn a c c o r d i n g 
t o 
l a w , ' 
and 
s u f f i c e s i n t h i s r e s p e c t 
( G a r d n e r v. S t a t e , 48 A l a . 
2 6 3 ) ; 
and i t a l s o a p p e a r s t h e w i t n e s s e s were l i k e w i s e d u l y s w o r n . " ) . 
The 
C o u r t o f C r i m i n a l A p p e a l s s u m m a r i z e d t h e 
l a w 
i n 
t h i s 
a r e a 
i n Dyson v. 
S t a t e , 
722 
So. 
2d 
782, 
785 
n.3 
( A l a . C r i m . 
App. 
1 9 9 7 ) : 
" T h i s 
C o u r t 
has 
c a r e f u l l y 
r e v i e w e d 
b o t h 
t h e 
t r i a l 
t r a n s c r i p t and 
t h e 
c l e r k ' s r e c o r d , 
i n c l u d i n g 
t h e m i n u t e e n t r i e s on t h e c a s e a c t i o n summary s h e e t s 
and 
t h e 
j u r y 
v e r d i c t 
f o r m s , 
and 
t h e r e 
i s 
no 
i n d i c a t i o n 
t h a t 
t h e 
j u r y was 
s w o r n . 
See 
T a r v e r 
v. 
S t a t e , 500 
So. 
2d 1232, 
1242 
( A l a . C r . A p p . ) , 
a f f ' d , 
500 
So. 
2d 
1256 
( A l a . 1 9 8 6 ) , c e r t . d e n i e d , 
482 
U.S. 
920, 
107 
S. 
C t . 
3197, 
96 L. Ed. 
2d 
685 
(1987) 
('[a] 
m i n u t e 
e n t r y 
i s deemed t o be 
a 
s u f f i c i e n t 
s h o w i n g 
t h a t 
t h e 
o a t h was 
a d m i n i s t e r e d ' ) ; 
P o r t e r v. 
S t a t e , 
520 
So. 
2d 
235, 
237 
( A l a . 
C r . 
App. 
1 987) 
( ' s t a t e m e n t s 
i n 
t h e 
r e c o r d 
s u c h 
as 
"upon 
t h e i r 
5 
1081306 
o a t h s " 
a r e 
s u f f i c i e n t 
t o show 
t h a t 
a 
j u r y 
was 
s w o r n ' ) ; M c G r u d e r v. S t a t e , 
560 So. 2d 1137, 1142 
( A l a . 
C r . 
App. 
1989) 
( ' [ a ] l t h o u g h 
t h e 
t r i a l 
t r a n s c r i p t does n o t i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e j u r y was s w o r n 
a f t e r t h e s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s , 
b o t h t h e j u d g m e n t 
e n t r y 
and t h e c a s e a c t i o n summary s t a t e t h a t t h e j u r y was 
" d u l y 
e m p a n e l e d , 
s w o r n 
and c h a r g e d b y t h e 
C o u r t 
a c c o r d i n g 
t o l a w " ' ) . 
( E m p h a s i s i n o r i g i n a l . ) " 
We c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e s i l e n c e o f t h e t r a n s c r i p t as t o t h e 
s w e a r i n g o f t h e j u r y i s i m m a t e r i a l 
i n l i g h t o f t h e 
s p e c i f i c 
m i n u t e e n t r y on A u g u s t 30 i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t h e j u r y was s w o r n . 
M o r e o v e r , t h e m i n u t e e n t r y i s p r e s u m e d c o r r e c t i n t h e a b s e n c e 
o f 
a 
t i m e l y 
p o s t j u d g m e n t 
m o t i o n 
r a i s i n g 
t h a t 
i s s u e . 
See 
A r m s t e a d v. S t a t e , 57 A l a . App. 459, 462, 329 So. 2d 150, 152 
( A l a . 
C r i m . App. 1 9 7 6 ) : 
" W h i l e t h e f a i l u r e t o p r o p e r l y e m p a n e l t h e j u r y as 
r e q u i r e d 
b y l a w may be 
r a i s e d b y m o t i o n 
f o r new 
t r i a l , 
F o w l e r v . S t a t e , 261 A l a . 262, 74 So. 2d 512 
[ ( 1 9 5 4 ) ] , 
u n l e s s 
t h e r e 
i s s u c h 
c h a l l e n g e 
made and 
r u l i n g 
i n v o k e d i n t h e t r i a l 
c o u r t , 
t h e n t h e m i n u t e  
e n t r y i n t h i s r e s p e c t 
w i l l be deemed t o be c o r r e c t . 
G a r d n e r v . S t a t e , 
48 A l a . 263 
[ ( 1 8 7 2 ) ] ; Vaughn v . 
S t a t e , 236 A l a . 442, 183 So. 428 
[ ( 1 9 3 8 ) ] . " 
( E m p h a s i s added.) 
A c o f f d i d n o t f i l e a p o s t j u d g m e n t m o t i o n ; 
t h e r e f o r e , t h e m i n u t e e n t r y i s p r e s u m e d 
c o r r e c t . 
B e c a u s e t h e r e i s no c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n t h e t r a n s c r i p t and 
t h e 
c a s e - a c t i o n 
summary, we a f f i r m t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e C o u r t 
o f C r i m i n a l 
A p p e a l s . 
6 
1081306 
AFFIRMED. 
Cobb, C . J . , and S t u a r t , B o l i n , and M u r d o c k , J J . , 
c o n c u r . 
7