Opinion ID: 1060770
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Historical Origin

Text: The writ of error coram nobis is an extraordinary remedy known more for its denial than its approval. Penn v. State, 282 Ark. 571, 670 S.W.2d 426, 428 (Ark.1984). The writ was developed by the judiciary in England during the Sixteenth century. 18 Am.Jur.2d Coram Nobis and Allied Statutory Remedies § 1 (1985). Since neither the right to move for a new trial nor the right to appeal were recognized at common law, the writ of error coram nobis was developed as a procedural mechanism to allow courts to provide relief under limited circumstances. [5] Morgan Prickett, Writ of Error Coram Nobis in California, 30 Santa Clara L.Rev. 1, 3 (1990). Essentially, the common law writ of error coram nobis allowed a trial court to reopen and correct its judgment upon discovery of a substantial factual error not appearing in the record which, if known at the time of judgment, would have prevented the judgment from being pronounced. John S. Gillig, Kentucky PostConviction Remedies and the Judicial Development of Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.42, 83 Ky. L.J. 265, 320 (1994-95). Literally, coram nobis means our court, or before us. Black's Law Dictionary 304 (5th ed.1979). Therefore, the writ of error coram nobis was addressed to the very court which had rendered the judgment rather than to an appellate or other reviewing court. Id. The writ was thus distinctive in that it required the reconsideration of a judgment by a court which had already made a final disposition of the cause; but it cast no aspersions on the competency or finding of the court in its first judgment, for it lay only to call up facts which were unknown to the court at the time of judgment and which were not inconsistent with the record. Note, The Writ of Error Coram Nobis, 37 Harv. L.Rev. 744 (1924). As such, the common law writ of error coram nobis did not encompass complaints about errors or mistakes in the judgment, but instead alleged that because of something that never came before the court, it was a mistake to proceed to judgment at all. Prickett, 30 Santa Clara L.Rev. at 6 n. 13. Though more frequently employed in civil cases, coram nobis relief was available in criminal proceedings under English common law. [6] Prickett, 30 Santa Clara L.Rev. at 6-9. Generally at common law the only time limitation upon the filing of the writ of error coram nobis was the requirement that a petitioner show that he or she had exercised due diligence in advancing the claim and seeking the remedy. 18 Am.Jur.2d Coram Nobis and Allied Statutory Remedies § 31 (1985); see also United States v. Morgan, 346 U.S. 502, 507, 74 S.Ct. 247, 250, 98 L.Ed. 248 (1954); Penn, 670 S.W.2d at 428. The common law writ of error coram nobis was brought over from England to the thirteen colonies and later incorporated into the jurisprudence of the United States. Prickett, 30 Santa Clara L.Rev. at 7. The writ was not often utilized in criminal cases and, with the advent of the right to seek a new trial and the right to appeal, use of the writ in both civil and criminal cases declined well into the Twentieth century. Gillig, 83 Ky. L.J. at 321; 18 Am.Jur.2d Coram Nobis and Allied Statutory Remedies § 1 (1985). There was a revival of the use of the writ in criminal proceedings following a 1935 United States Supreme Court decision [7] in which the Court pointed out that states should have post-conviction procedures broad enough to encompass deprivations of federal constitutional rights. Gillig, 83 Ky. L.J. at 321; 18 Am.Jur.2d Coram Nobis and Allied Statutory Remedies § 1 (1985). Through the 1940's and 50's many states utilized the writ of error coram nobis as a post-conviction remedy, but when states thereafter adopted more modern and comprehensive post-conviction remedies, the writ of error coram nobis again sank into obscurity and largely remains there today. Prickett, 30 Santa Clara L.Rev. at 2. While the writ of error coram nobis was recognized and utilized under the common law in Tennessee, the General Assembly in 1858 enacted a statute which codified the procedure for seeking the writ of error coram nobis, expanded the grounds upon which a claim for relief under the writ could be based, and placed a time limitation upon its filings which provided that [t]he writ of error coram nobis may be had within one year from the rendition of the judgment.... Code 1858, § 3111; Jones v. Pearce, 59 Tenn. 281, 286 (1873). Both at common law and under the 1858 statutory enactment, however, the writ of error coram nobis was limited in scope to civil proceedings. Green v. State, 187 Tenn. 545, 216 S.W.2d 305 (Tenn.1948). In 1955 the General Assembly extended the writ of error coram nobis to criminal proceedings. 1955 Tenn. Pub. Acts 166. The relief available extended only to errors dehors the record and to matters that were not or could not have been litigated on the trial of the case, on a motion for a new trial, on appeal in the nature of a writ of error, on writ of error, or in a habeas corpus proceeding. Id. With respect to procedure, the statute provided only that criminal coram nobis proceedings were to be governed by the same rules and procedure applicable to the writ of error coram nobis in civil cases, except in so far as inconsistent herewith. Id. Though the writ of error coram nobis in civil cases was superseded [8] when Rule 60 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure became effective in 1971, [9] the adoption of Rule 60 did not diminish or supersede the statute which extended the writ as an available remedy in criminal proceedings. Indeed, Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-26-105 (1997 Repl.) currently provides as follows: There is hereby made available to convicted defendants in criminal cases a proceeding in the nature of a writ of error coram nobis, to be governed by the same rules and procedure applicable to the writ of error coram nobis in civil cases, except insofar as inconsistent herewith. Notice of the suing out of the writ shall be served on the district attorney general. No judge shall have authority to order the writ to operate as a supersedeas. The court shall have authority to order the person having custody of the petitioner to produce the petitioner in court for the hearing on the proceeding. The relief obtainable by this proceeding shall be confined to errors dehors the record and to matters that were not or could not have been litigated on the trial of the case, on the motion for a new trial, on appeal in the nature of a writ of error, on writ of error, or in a habeas corpus proceeding. Upon a showing by the defendant that the defendant was without fault in failing to present certain evidence at the proper time, a writ of error coram nobis will lie for subsequently or newly discovered evidence relating to matters which were litigated at the trial if the judge determines that such evidence may have resulted in a different judgment, had it been presented at the trial. The issue shall be tried by the court without the intervention of a jury, and if the decision be in favor of the petitioner, the judgment complained of shall be set aside and the defendant shall be granted a new trial in that cause. In the event a new trial is granted, the court may, in its discretion, admit the petitioner to bail; provided that the offense is bailable. If not admitted to bail, the petitioner shall be confined in the county jail to await trial. The petitioner or the state may pray an appeal in the nature of a writ of error to the supreme court from the final judgment in this proceeding. (Emphasis added.) The anomalous result is that the writ of error coram nobis continues to be an available remedy in criminal actions, but the procedure governing the remedy is based upon the civil writ of error coram nobis which has been abolished for almost 28 years. In this appeal, therefore, we must clarify several procedural issues which have arisen relating to the operation of the writ of error coram nobis in criminal proceedings.