Bumgardner v. Norris (Per Curiam)

Annotate this Case

Appellant Jimmy Bumgardner was convicted by a jury of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of pseudoephedrine. His convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. Thereafter, Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief, which was denied. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial. Appellant then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the circuit court of Lincoln County. After Appellant filed his petition, he was transferred to Jefferson County. The circuit court denied the petition, finding that Appellant's arguments had been addressed in his petition for postconviction relief and that he failed to state any claim upon which relief could be granted. The Supreme Court dismissed Appellant's appeal, holding that because Appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus was not filed pursuant to the procedural requirements of Ark. Code Ann. 16-112-105, he could not seek relief until he filed the petition in the county in which he was currently held in custody.

Download PDF

Cite as 2011 Ark. 334 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS No. 09-1228 Opinion Delivered JIMMY DOYLE BUMGARDNER APPELLANT V. LARRY NORRIS, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION APPELLEE September 8, 2011 PRO SE APPEAL FRO M THE L IN C O L N C O U N T Y C IR C U IT COURT, LCV 2009-78, HON. JODI RAINES DENNIS, JUDGE APPEAL DISMISSED. PER CURIAM In 2005, Appellant Jimmy Doyle Bumgardner was convicted by a Grant County jury of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of pseudoephedrine. He was sentenced to sixty, twenty, and twelve years in prison respectively. His convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. Bumgardner v. State, CACR 05-963 (Ark. App. Jun. 14, 2006) (unpublished). Thereafter, appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule 37.1 (2011), which was denied. This court affirmed that denial. Bumgardner v. State, CR 07-366 (Ark. Sept. 18, 2008) (unpublished per curiam). On July 23, 2009, appellant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101(Repl. 2006) in the Circuit Court of Lincoln County. The court denied appellant s petition, finding that appellant s arguments had been addressed in his Rule 37.1 petition and that he failed to state any claim upon which relief Cite as 2011 Ark. 334 could be granted. Appellant brings this appeal. Any petition for writ of habeas corpus is properly addressed to the circuit court in the county in which the petitioner is held in custody, unless the petition is filed pursuant to Act 1780 of 2001. Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-105 requires that certain procedural requirements be met by a petitioner seeking to have a court issue a writ of habeas corpus. The writ must be directed to the person in whose custody the prisoner is detained. Additionally, the writ should be issued by a court that has personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Otherwise, although a court may have subject-matter jurisdiction to issue the writ, a writ of habeas corpus is not returnable to the court issuing the writ; a court does not have personal jurisdiction to issue and make returnable before itself a writ of habeas corpus where the petitioner is in another county. See, e.g., State Dep t of Pub. Welfare v. Lipe, 257 Ark. 1015, 521 S.W.2d 526 (1975); Johnson v. McClure, 228 Ark. 1081, 312 S.W.2d 347 (1958); State v. Ballard, 209 Ark. 397, 190 S.W.2d 522 (1945). In the present matter, appellant was in the custody of the Arkansas Department of Correction at the Varner Unit in Lincoln County when he filed the petition. Since that time, he has been transferred to the Tucker Unit in Jefferson County. As appellant s petition for writ of habeas corpus was not filed pursuant to Act 1780, he cannot seek relief until he files his petition in the county in which he is held. The Lincoln County Circuit Court no longer has personal jurisdiction over appellant and cannot release a prisoner who is not in custody within that county. Mackey v. Lockhart, 307 Ark. 321, 819 S.W.2d 702 (1991). Therefore, the Lincoln County Circuit Court cannot issue a writ of habeas corpus that would be returnable to the court to effect appellant s release, and appellant cannot obtain the specific relief he seeks 2 Cite as 2011 Ark. 334 in this matter. Therefore, we decline to address the merits of appellant s arguments and dismiss the appeal. Appeal dismissed. 3

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.