Title: Watkins v. State

State: tennessee

Issuer: Tennessee Supreme Court

Document:

903 S.W.2d 302 (1995) Curtis WATKINS, Petitioner-Appellee, v. STATE of Tennessee, Respondent-Appellant. Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Jackson. July 3, 1995. *303 Daniel A. Seward, Memphis, for petitioner-appellee. Charles W. Burson, Atty. Gen. & Reporter, Michael E. Moore, Sol. Gen., Rebecca L. Gundt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, for respondent-appellant. REID, Justice. This case presents an appeal by the State from the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals that the statutory three year limitation for filing a petition for post-conviction relief is suspended while the petitioner is mentally incompetent. That decision is supported by statute and by principles of due process, and the decision is affirmed. The petitioner, Curtis C. Watkins, entered a plea of guilty to aggravated rape on July 13, 1981, upon which plea he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. On July 24, 1984, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was dismissed without a hearing on February 18, 1985. On February 14, 1992, the petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus and, in the alternative, post-conviction relief, in which he alleged that the judgment entered on the plea of guilty was invalid because he was not advised of his right against self-incrimination and he was denied effective assistance of counsel. He stated that while the first petition was pending, he was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility for treatment, and that he was unable to proceed with the first petition because he was mentally incompetent. The petition requested the appointment of counsel. The State's response to the petition acknowledged that the first petition was dismissed without prejudice because the petitioner was mentally incompetent, but moved for the dismissal of the present petition on the ground that it was time barred. The trial court found that the petition was barred by Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-102 (1990) and *304 dismissed the petition without the appointment of counsel or a hearing. The Court of Criminal Appeals[1] held: The petition for relief in this case is facially sufficient, and if it is not barred by the statute of limitations, the petitioner is entitled to the appointment of counsel and a hearing on the petition. See Johnson v. State, 834 S.W.2d 922, 925 (Tenn. 1992); State v. Neal, 810 S.W.2d 131, 135-36 (Tenn. 1991). However, since the petition was filed subsequent to June 30, 1989, the petition is barred unless the limitation of action was suspended by the petitioner's mental incompetence. By its terms, Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-102 allows no exception to the three-year limitation for filing petitions for post-conviction relief. It provides: The saving statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106 (1980), provides: The State insists that this tolling provision does not apply to post-conviction proceedings. It relies upon the definition in Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-101, which limits "actions" to "proceedings in judicial tribunals for the redress of civil injuries." The State insists that an action filed under the Post-Conviction Procedure Act is not a civil action, citing State v. Scales, 767 S.W.2d 157 (Tenn. 1989). In Scales, the Court considered whether the timely filing of a notice of appeal in a post-conviction action is mandatory as in civil cases, or may be waived "in the interest of justice" as permitted in criminal cases by Rule 4(a) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Court stated: Id. at 157-58. However, this Court, discussing the more general nature of post-conviction proceedings, has stated in an unreported opinion: A post-conviction proceeding is a hybrid affair, involving an appeal from a criminal prosecution which is considered under civil rules of procedure. We are aided in this conclusion by the American Bar Association's Standards for Criminal Justice, 2nd Ed., Standard 22-1.2. Post-conviction review has become an established part of the criminal process. In formulating a rule we recognize that the post-conviction proceeding is procedurally separate and apart from the original criminal prosecution. It may be initiated by a petition for habeas corpus. T.C.A. § 40-30-108. It seeks not to convict, but to set aside a conviction which is void or voidable because of the abridgement of constitutional rights. The base root of the proceeding is criminal. The post-conviction stage of a criminal trial is an extension of the original proceeding. The procedure by which a criminal conviction may be set aside is civil in nature, therefore it is tried under the Rules of Civil Procedure and less stringent evidentiary rules apply. If the petitioner is unsuccessful in his application his criminal status is retained. (emphasis added) For the procedural purposes relevant to this case, a post-conviction petition should be considered civil in nature.[2] The State argues that "Even if an action for post-conviction relief could properly be characterized as `civil' in nature, it was still error" to toll the limitations period because "The limitations period established by Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-102 is a substantive element, and condition" which is not subject to tolling for any reason. It relies upon decisions holding that "when a statute which creates a right of action [unrecognized at common law] expressly limits the time in which suit to enforce the right may be brought, time is of the essence of the right and the limitation of the remedy is a limitation of the right." Automobile Sales Co. v. Johnson, 174 Tenn. 38, 49, 122 S.W.2d 453, 458 (1938). (Johnson involved an action to recover taxes paid under protest.) In further support of this argument, the State cites several other cases finding the general savings statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106, inapplicable to actions brought against governmental entities under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. The State's argument is not persuasive. The statute which the State says "created" the right of action did not contain a limitations period when it was enacted in 1967. It was only in 1986 that a limitations period was added. Consequently, it may not be asserted that "time is of the essence of the right" in this case. Additionally, unlike actions against the State or governmental entities which historically were immune from suit, the underlying claims in post-conviction proceedings are constitutional, and the purpose of the Act was, not to create a right of action, but to provide a state court procedure for asserting constitutional claims. See Case v. Nebraska, 381 U.S. 336, 344-45, 85 S. Ct. 1486, 1491-92, 14 L. Ed. 2d 422 (1965) (Clard, J., concurring); Burford v. State, 845 S.W.2d 204, 206 (Tenn. 1992). Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106 is applicable to post-conviction proceedings. Even in the absence of a statute tolling the statute of limitations, application of *306 the statute of limitations to the facts of this case would violate constitutional due process. In Burford v. State, 845 S.W.2d 204 (Tenn. 1992), this Court discussed the due process requirements concerning access to post-conviction relief. In that case, four of the five convictions used to enhance a persistent offender sentence had been set aside. The petitioner filed a post-conviction petition within three years of the date the convictions were set aside, but not within three years of the date of final action on the persistent offender sentence. The Court concluded that Id. at 205. In reaching that conclusion, the Court recognized that, Id. at 208. In determining what process is due for post-conviction claims, or in other words, what opportunity must be given, the Court used this balancing analysis: Id. at 207. Here, as in Burford, the private interest involved is the petitioner's opportunity to attack his conviction on the grounds that he was deprived of his constitutional rights. And, like Burford, if his allegations of incompetency prove to be valid, application of the statute of limitations would effectively deprive him of an opportunity to challenge his conviction in a meaningful time and manner. The governmental interest in asserting the statute of limitations is the interest in promoting fairness and finality by preventing the litigation of stale and groundless claims and avoiding piecemeal litigation. However, Id. at 209. The State's insistence that Burford is distinguishable because the petitioner in that case suffered "a separate and distinct constitutional injury namely, deprivation of his fundamental right not to serve an excessive sentence guaranteed under the Eighth Amendment to the federal constitution and Article 1, § 16 of the Tennessee Constitution," is untenable. The nature of the private *307 interest at stake does not determine whether to apply a due process analysis, but rather the weight to be given the private interest as against the governmental interest in determining what process is due. Even though the petitioner's interest is not a fundamental right entitled to heightened due process protection, because a petitioner who was incompetent throughout the limitations period would be denied the opportunity to challenge his conviction in a meaningful manner, the failure to toll the limitations period would deny such a petitioner a fair and reasonable opportunity for the bringing of the petition, and thus, would violate due process. In People v. Germany, 674 P.2d 345, 354 (Colo. 1983), the court found a statute of limitations for post-conviction petitions violated due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment and the state constitution because, The rationale of the Germany case is applicable to this case. If the petitioner was mentally incompetent, and therefore legally incapable, he would be denied any opportunity to assert his constitutional rights in a post-conviction petition, unless the period of limitations was suspended during his mental incompetence. Due process requires that some reasonable opportunity to assert those rights be afforded. The judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings on the petition for post-conviction relief. Costs are adjudged against the appellant. ANDERSON, C.J., DROWOTA, J., and FONES and HOLDER, Special Justices, concur. [1] The Court of Criminal Appeals' opinion was written by Judge (now Justice) Birch, with Judge (now Justice) White and Judge Wade concurring. [2] Statutes of limitation are procedural in that they regulate when a party may file a suit, and are considered substantive only where their application would increase the punishment or alter a substantial right. The procedural aspects of the statute of limitations predominate in this case.