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IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

LACORRICK C. WILLIAMS, PRO SE v. JAMES M. DAVIS

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Wayne County

No. 12944 Stella L. Hargrove, Judge

No. M2003-00991-CCA-R3-CO Filed March 5, 2004

The Petitioner, LaCorrick C. Williams, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas

corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial

of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner fails to assert

a cognizable claim for which habeas corpus relief may be granted. Accordingly, the State's motion

is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgment of the Trial Court Affirmed Pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of

the Court of Criminal Appeals

ROBERT W.WEDEMEYER,J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which DAVID H. WELLES and

JERRY L. SMITH, joined.

LaCorrick C. Williams, pro se.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General,

for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On June 10, 1998, Petitioner entered guilty pleas to attempted first degree murder as a

standard 30% offender to a sentence of 35 years. On December 17, 2002, Petitioner filed, pro se,

a petition for writ of habeas corpus relief, alleging that his sentence was illegal and, therefore, void

based upon his claim that he pled guilty and agreed to a sentence that exceeded the statutory

guidelines. 

By order entered March 8, 2003, the trial court denied Petitioner's application for habeas

corpus relief. The trial court found that the 35 year sentence to which Petitioner agreed was a

“hybrid sentence” that was not illegal. Accordingly, the court dismissed the petition.
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A writ of habeas corpus may be granted only when the petitioner has established lack of

jurisdiction for the order of confinement or that he is otherwise entitled to immediate release

because of the expiration of his sentence. See Ussery v. Avery, 222 Tenn. 50, 432 S.W.2d 656

(1968); State ex rel. Wade v. Norvell, 1 Tenn. Crim. App. 447, 443 S.W.2d 839 (1969). Habeas

corpus relief is available in this state only when it appears on the face of the judgment or the

record that the trial court was without jurisdiction to convict or sentence the defendant or that the

sentence of imprisonment has otherwise expired. Archer v. State, 851 S.W.2d 157, 164 (Tenn.

1993); Potts v. State, 833 S.W.2d 60, 62 (Tenn. 1992). Unlike the post-conviction petition, the

purpose of the habeas corpus petition is to contest a void, not merely voidable, judgment. State

ex rel. Newsome v. Henderson, 221 Tenn. 24, 424 S.W.2d 186, 189 (1968). A petitioner cannot

collaterally attack a facially valid conviction in a habeas corpus proceeding. Potts v. State, 833

S.W.2d 60, 62 (Tenn. 1992); State ex rel. Holbrook v. Bomar, 211 Tenn. 243, 364 S.W.2d 887,

888 (1963).

The Petitioner has failed to set forth any allegations that would indicate that the trial court

lacked jurisdiction to convict or sentence him or that he is unlawfully restrained for a sentence

that has expired. Petitioner’s habeas corpus action is based on the allegation that his sentence is

illegal because he agreed to a sentence that exceeded the statutory guidelines. Petitioner pled

guilty to attempted first degree murder and agreed to a sentence of thirty-five years, with the

length of incarceration in one range and the release eligibility percentage in another. This court

has recognized that under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, it is proper in a plea agreement to

mix the length of incarceration and the release eligibility status. Bland v. State, 97 S.W.3d 133

(Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). 

Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in

accordance with Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. 

 

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ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, JUDGE