Williams v. State

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         PRO SE APPEAL FROM THE DREW COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT; MOTION FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENT AND FOR EXPEDIENT REVIEW OF APPEAL AND RELIEF OF CUSTODY; AMENDMENT TO DEFAULT JUDGMENT MOTION AND MOTION FOR EXPEDIENT REVIEW, DOUBLE JEOPARDY HELD; MOTION FOR SUBMISSION OF APPELLANT’S BELATED REPLY BRIEF [NO. 22CR-13-43], HONORABLE SAM POPE, JUDGE

          Fred L. Williams, pro se appellant.

         Leslie Rutledge, Att’y Gen., by: Kent Holt, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.

         OPINION

         JOHN DAN KEMP, Chief Justice

          Appellant Fred L. Williams brings this pro se appeal from the denial by the trial court of his claims for postconviction relief that were raised pursuant to Rule 37.1 (2016) of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. Also pending before this court are Williams’s motion for default judgment, for expedient review of appeal and relief of custody; "amendment to default

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judgment motion and motion for expedient review, double jeopardy held"; and his motion for submission of a belated reply brief. Because Williams raised claims that are not cognizable in Rule 37.1 proceedings and also failed to establish prejudice as a basis to support his multiple ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims, we affirm the trial court’s order, which renders Williams’s motions moot.

          Williams was found guilty of murder in the first degree and abuse of a corpse for which an aggregate sentence of life imprisonment was imposed. Williams was sentenced as a habitual offender. We affirmed the conviction and the sentence. Williams v. State, 2015 Ark. 316, 468 S.W.3d 776.

         Williams subsequently filed a timely petition for Rule 37.1 relief, contending that his right to due process was violated as a result of juror misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, and an illegal search. Williams also raised multiple ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims. Two hearings were held on Williams’s Rule 37.1 petition. The trial court denied relief on the basis that Williams had failed to provide sufficient supporting evidence to establish he had been prejudiced under the standard set forth in St ...