# FILED August 20, 1998 Cecil W. Crowson Appellate Court Clerk IN THE COURT OF CRIMI NAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE JULY SESSION, 1998
ELIZABET H SMITH, ) C.C.A. NO. 01C01-9709-CC-00436 ) Appe llant, ) ) ) LINCOLN COUNTY VS. ) ) HON. CHARLES LEE STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) JUDGE ) Appe llant. ) (Post-Convict ion)

ON APPEAL FROM THE J UDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LINCOLN COUNTY
FOR THE APPELL

ANT : FOR THE APPELLEE : ELIZABETH SMI TH, PRO SE JOHN KNOX WALKUP 3881 Stewart Lane Attorney Generaland Reporter Nashville, TN 37218-3302 LISA A. NAY LOR Assistant Attorney General 425 5th Avenu e North Nashville, TN 37243 W. MI CHAE L Mc COWN Distri ct Attorney General P.O. Box 878 Fayettevil le, TN 37334
OPINION FILED ________________________ AFFIRMED PURS UANT TO RULE 20 JERRY L . SMI TH, J UDGE- 2
- 

# ORDER

Appe ll ant Elizabeth Smith w as con victed by a jury in the L incoln C ounty Circu it Court on April15, 1992 of t he first degree murder of her husband. She received a sentence of life imprisonment wit h the Tennessee Department of Correction. This Co urt affirme d her co nviction a nd sen tence. State v. E lizabeth Smith , C.C.A . No. 01C0 1-92 11-CC -00362 , Lincoln C ounty (T enn. C rim. App ., Nashville, March 2), perm. to ap peal d enied , (Tenn. 1995) . On appeal, she presen ts the following issue for our review: w hether the tr ial cou rt erred in dismissingAppellant’ s petiti on for post- convicti on relief on the ground that

it was barred by the statute of limitati ons.

After a review of the re cord, we affirm the ju dgmen t of the trial court pursuant to Cour

t of Cri minal Appeals Rule20.

On August 13, 1997, Appell ant fil ed her pro sepetiti on for post- convicti on relief in the Lin coln Co unty Circuit Court. I n her petit ion, she alleg ed, inter alia , ineffecti ve assistance of counsel and ex pos t facto application of laws b oth in the se ntencing and post-convi ction proceedings. The t rial cour t dismissed t h e petiti on without a hearing on August 9, 1997.

Prior to the adopt ion ofthe recent Post-Convicti on Procedure Act, petiti ons like t he pres ent o ne had to be fi led withi n three years of the date of the fi nal action of the high est state appellate cou rt to which an appealwas taken. Tenn.- 3
-

Code Ann. § 4 0-30-10 2 (1995 , Repl.). H owev er, the new Post-Convicti on Procedu re Act, which took effect on May 10, 1995, subsequently shortened t he three-year s tatute of

limitations to one year. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-201 et seq. (Supp. 1996). Appellant’ s statute of li mitations for the f iling of a petit ion for post-convi ction relief

began to run on June 1 2, 1995 , the date that the Tennes see Supr eme Court de nied he r applicatio n to appeal, and expi red one year l ateron June 12, 1996. Appellant fi led her petiti on on August 13, 1997, more than one yearafter

the expiration of t he limitations peri od. We conclude that the trial court prope rly dismissed the August 19, 1997 pet ition as be ing barre d by the s tatute of limitat ions.
Accordingly, we affirm th e tr ial court’s judgment pur suant to Court

of Criminal Appeal s Rule 20.

____________________________________ JERRY L . SMI TH, J UDGE

CONCUR:

___________________________________ PAUL G. SUMMERS, JUDGE

___________________________________ DAVID G. HAYE S, JU DGE