King v. Kelley, No. 14-2547 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseKing pled guilty in Arkansas state court to 1,577 counts of forgery and theft of property for embezzling more than $700,000 from the school district where she worked. The court sentenced King to 80 years imprisonment, within the guidelines range. King had no criminal history and claims she accepted the plea because of threats that her husband and son would also be charged. Five months later, the court reduced King’s sentence to 20 years imprisonment, under Arkansas Code 16-90-111, which allows a trial court to “correct an illegal sentence at any time” or to “correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner within . . . ninety (90) days after the sentence is imposed.” The state appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which reinstated King’s 80-year sentence, finding the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the reduction because the 90-day period for doing so had expired. King sought federal habeas relief. Although the district court was clearly sympathetic, it found no grounds for habeas relief. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, holding that King is not entitled to habeas relief based on her disagreement with the Arkansas Supreme Court’s interpretation of Arkansas law.
Court Description: Shepherd, Author, with Murphy, Circuit Judge, and Harpool, District Judge] Prisoner case - Habeas. King's argument regarding what Arkansas Code Ann. Sec. 16-90-111 required a trial court to do has been resolved by the Arkansas Supreme Court and Section 2254 does not permit this court to exercise de novo review over a state court's interpretation of state law.
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