Opinion ID: 1822625
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Improper Verificationa Waivable Defect Even When it Involves Indictments for Felonies

Text: Admittedly, the procedure used by the district clerk to affix her signature to the ticket in this case was irregular. The questions nevertheless are: Was the irregularity one that Brown should have raised before he joined issue on the charge? Even assuming that he did not discover the defect until after his conviction, should he be allowed to challenge, in a post-conviction proceeding, this error, which in no way would affect his guilt or innocence of the stated charge? I think not. In support of my position, there are prior Alabama cases in which indictments were involved, not traffic citations, and this Court refused to invalidate the indictments even when they were shown not to have been properly signed, as here. In Prince v. State, 140 Ala. 158, 37 So. 171 (1904), this Court held that an indictment was not rendered invalid because the signature of the solicitor was written by someone else. [9]