Tryon v. Hobbs
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Cite as 2011 Ark. 76
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No.
10-1189
Opinion Delivered
RONALD TRYON
Appellant
v.
RAY HOBBS
Appellee
February 17, 2011
PRO SE MOTION FOR EXTENSION
OF TIME TO FILE APPELLANT’S
BRIEF AND FOR APPOINTMENT OF
COUNSEL [LINCOLN COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT, LCV 2010-80, HON.
JODI RAINES DENNIS , JUDGE]
APPEAL DISMISSED; MOTION
MOOT.
PER CURIAM
In 2006, appellant Ronald Tryon was found guilty by a jury in the Sebastian County
Circuit Court of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug
paraphernalia, and theft by receiving. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate
term of life imprisonment. This court affirmed. Tryon v. State, 371 Ark. 25, 263 S.W.3d 475
(2007).
On July 29, 2010, appellant, who is incarcerated in the custody of the Arkansas
Department of Correction by virtue of the convictions, filed in the circuit court in the county
where he was incarcerated a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Arkansas Code
Annotated §§ 16-112-101 to -123 (Repl. 2006) in which he challenged the judgment. The
petition was denied, and appellant lodged an appeal here.
Appellant now seeks by pro se motion an extension of time to file his brief-in-chief and
Cite as 2011 Ark. 76
appointment of counsel. We need not address the merits of the motion because it is clear from
the record that appellant could not prevail on appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed, and
the motions are moot. An appeal from an order that denied a petition for postconviction relief,
including a petition for writ of habeas corpus, will not be permitted to go forward where it is
clear that the appellant could not prevail. McCullough v. State, 2010 Ark. 394 (per curiam); Moore
v. Hobbs, 2010 Ark. 380 (per curiam); Hutcherson v. State, 2010 Ark. 368 (per curiam); Washington
v. Norris, 2010 Ark. 104 (per curiam); Edwards v. State, 2010 Ark. 85 (per curiam); Grissom v. State,
2009 Ark. 557 (per curiam); Pineda v. Norris, 2009 Ark. 471 (per curiam).
Appellant failed to state a claim in his petition that was cognizable in a habeas
proceeding. The burden is on the petitioner in a petition for writ of habeas corpus to establish
that the trial court lacked jurisdiction or that the commitment was invalid on its face; otherwise,
there is no basis for a finding that a writ of habeas corpus should issue. Moore, 2010 Ark. 380;
Young v. Norris, 365 Ark. 219, 226 S.W.3d 797 (2006) (per curiam). Under our statute, a petitioner
who does not allege his actual innocence1 must plead either the facial invalidity of the judgment
or the lack of jurisdiction by the trial court and make a “showing by affidavit or other evidence,
[of] probable cause to believe” that he is illegally detained. Young at 221, 226 S.W.3d at 798-99;
Ark. Code Ann. § 16-112-103(a)(1).
Appellant contended in his petition that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over him and
1
A petitioner who seeks a writ of habeas corpus and alleges actual innocence must do so
in accordance with Act 1780 of 2001 Acts of Arkansas, codified as Arkansas Code Annotated
sections 16-112-201 to –208 (Repl. 2006). Ark. Code Ann. § 16-112-103(a)(2) (Repl. 2006).
-2-
Cite as 2011 Ark. 76
that the manner in which the judgment in his case was obtained was a violation of due process
of law. He based the due-process argument on claims that he was denied the right to counsel,
the habitual offender statute was misapplied in his case, his attorney was ineffective, he was
denied a speedy trial, evidence used against him was seized as the result of an illegal search, his
arrest was illegal, there was prosecutorial misconduct at his trial, he was denied his right to selfrepresentation, and there was insufficient evidence to sustain the judgment. In addition,
appellant challenged the trial court’s jurisdiction on the ground that a court in Oklahoma had
declared him incompetent in 2004 and that, as a result, the Arkansas court lacked authority to
conduct criminal proceedings against him.
The claims were not sufficient to establish that the judgment was invalid on its face or
that the trial court lacked jurisdiction in the matter. We first note that a claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel is not cognizable in a habeas proceeding. Grimes v. State, 2010 Ark. 97 (per
curiam). Allegations concerning counsel’s effectiveness are properly raised in a timely petition
pursuant to our postconviction rule, Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.1 (2010). Moore,
2010 Ark. 380; Hill, 2010 Ark. 287. A petition for writ of habeas corpus is not a substitute for
proceeding under Rule 37.1. Johnson v. Hobbs, 2010 Ark. 459 (per curiam); Rickenbaker v. Norris,
361 Ark. 291, 206 S.W.3d 220 (2005).
With respect to appellant’s assertions of trial error and a failure to afford him due-process
of law, the issues could, and should, have been raised at trial or on the record on direct appeal.
Such claims are not cognizable in a habeas proceeding. Hill v. Norris, 2010 Ark. 287 (per curiam).
-3-
Cite as 2011 Ark. 76
In determining whether the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus was proper, this court
must look to the invalidity on the face of the judgment, not to trial error. See id.; see also Key v.
Norris, 2010 Ark. 61 (per curiam). A habeas corpus proceeding does not afford a convicted
defendant an opportunity to retry his case, and it is not a substitute for direct appeal Henderson
v. State, 2010 Ark. 30 (per curiam) (citing Meny v. Norris 340 Ark. 418, 420, 13 S.W.3d 143, 144
(2000) (per curiam)). Jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear and determine the subject
matter in controversy. Baker v. Norris, 369 Ark. 405, 255 S.W.3d 466 (2007). A circuit court has
subject-matter jurisdiction to hear and determine cases involving violations of criminal statutes.
Id. Mere trial error does not deprive a court of jurisdiction. See Birchett v. State, 303 Ark. 220, 795
S.W.3d 53 (1990).
Finally, appellant’s allegation that the trial court lacked jurisdiction in his case because he
had been declared incompetent in an Oklahoma court was not supported by convincing
argument to establish that a finding of incompetence in an out-of-state proceeding affected the
Arkansas court’s jurisdiction. An argument without convincing citation to authority or
convincing argument in its support that cannot be sustained without further research on the part
of the court is not well taken. See Morgan v. State, 2010 Ark. 504 (per curiam); see also Watkins v.
State, 2010 Ark. 156, ___ S.W.3d ___ (citing Weatherford v. State, 352 Ark. 324, 101 S.W.3d 227
(2003)).
As appellant fell short of establishing that the trial court in his case lacked jurisdiction or
that the commitment was invalid on its face, there was no basis for a finding that a writ of
-4-
Cite as 2011 Ark. 76
habeas corpus should issue. Hill, 2010 Ark. 287.
Appeal dismissed; motion moot.
-5-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.