Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-almd-2_08-cv-00229/USCOURTS-almd-2_08-cv-00229-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

NORTHERN DIVISION

ALPHONSO NORMAN, ) 

 Reg. No 11288-002, )

)

Petitioner, )

 )

v ) Civil Action No.2:08cv229-WKW

) (WO) 

STATE OF ALABAMA, et al., )

)

Respondents. )

ORDER ON MOTION

Pending before this court (Doc. No. 18) is Petitioner’s June 16, 2008, motion

requesting that this court recharacterize his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for habeas corpus

relief as a petition for writ of error coram nobis. By his habeas petition, Petitioner

challenges a state drug conviction entered against him by the Circuit Court of Montgomery

County, Alabama.

Coram nobis has traditionally been a proceeding in a court to attack a judgment of

that court for error of fact. See United States v. Morgan, 346 U.S. 502 (1954). Thus, a writ

of coram nobis cannot be used to set aside the judgment of another court. See Wolfson v.

Florida, 184 Fed.Appx. 866 (11 Cir. June 14, 2006) (“A writ of error coram nobis is not th

available in federal court to directly attack a state criminal judgment.”) (citing Theriault v.

State of Mississippi, 390 F.2d 657 (5 Cir. 1968) (per curiam)); Sinclair v. State of th

Louisiana, 679 F.2d 513, 514-15 (5 Cir. 1982); Thomas v. Cunningham, 335 F.2d 67 (4 th th

Case 2:08-cv-00229-WKW-SRW Document 20 Filed 06/23/08 Page 1 of 2
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Cir. 1964); Rivenburgh v. State of Utah, 299 F.2d 842 (10 Cir. 1962). Here, Petitioner is th

not attacking a judgment of the United States District Court, but that of an Alabama state

trial court. Compare United States v. Morgan, supra, and United States v. Forlano, 319

F.2d 617 (2 Cir. 1963), with Gillespie v. United States, 376 F.2d 414 (6 Cir. 1967). nd th

Accordingly, it is

ORDERED that Petitioner’s motion to recharacterize his petition for habeas corpus

relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 as a petition for writ of error coram nobis (Doc. No. 18) be

and is hereby DENIED.

Done this 23 day of June, 2008. rd

 /s/Susan Russ Walker 

SUSAN RUSS WALKER

CHIEF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case 2:08-cv-00229-WKW-SRW Document 20 Filed 06/23/08 Page 2 of 2