DARRELL WAYNE REYNOLDS v. RODERICK MESSER; TOM HANDY; DANNY EVANS; JEFF WEAVER; LARRY LEWIS; ROGER SCHOTT; JOSEPH E. LAMBERT; PAUL D. GUDGEL; R. W. DYCHE; JOHN D. MILLER; DANIEL T. GUIDUGLI; RICK A. JOHNSON; DAVID C. BUCKINGHAM; ALBERT B. CHANDLER III
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RENDERED: DECEMBER 27, 2002; 2:00 p.m.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
C ommonwealth O f K entucky
C ourt O f A ppeals
NO.
2001-CA-002036-MR
DARRELL WAYNE REYNOLDS
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM LAUREL CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE LEWIS B. HOPPER, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 01-CI-00591
v.
RODERICK MESSER; TOM HANDY; DANNY
EVANS; JEFF WEAVER; LARRY LEWIS;
ROGER SCHOTT; JOSEPH E. LAMBERT;
PAUL D. GUDGEL; R. W. DYCHE;
JOHN D. MILLER; DANIEL T.
GUIDUGLI; RICK A. JOHNSON;
DAVID C. BUCKINGHAM; ALBERT B.
CHANDLER III
APPELLEES
OPINION
AFFIRMING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE:
BARBER, SCHRODER, TACKETT, JUDGES.
BARBER, JUDGE:
Darrell Wayne Reynolds appeals from an opinion
and order of the Laurel Circuit Court dismissing his complaint
against the appellees.
The primary relief sought in the
complaint was release from a twenty-year prison sentence imposed
for a conviction of first-degree rape.
Because Reynolds’
complaint is effectively an impermissible attempt to collaterally
attack his first-degree rape conviction, we affirm.
Reynolds is an inmate at Green River Correctional
Complex.
On July 12, 2001, Reynolds filed a pro se complaint in
Laurel Circuit Court.
The complaint alleged that there was a
conspiracy against him to alter the public record involving
Laurel Circuit Court Judge Roderick Messer; Commonwealth’s
Attorney Tom Handy and prosecutors Danny Evans and Jeff Weaver;
Kentucky State Police Officer Larry Lewis; the Laurel Circuit
Court Clerk Roger Schott; Attorney General Albert B. Chandler,
III; Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert; and Kentucky Court of
Appeals Judges Paul D. Gudgel, R. W. Dyche, John D. Miller,
Daniel T. Guidugli, Rick A. Johnson, and David C. Buckingham.
In light of the palpable implausibility of Reynolds’ conspiracy
theory, not surprisingly, the complaint provided few details of
the alleged conspiracy.
As relief, the complaint sought a declaratory judgment
that the appellees had violated his constitutional rights, an
injunction from any further incarceration, and “a protection
order for safety of the plaintiff.”
On August 6, 2001, the
Office of the Attorney General filed, on behalf of all of the
named defendants, an answer to the complaint and a motion to
dismiss.
On August 15, 2001, the trial court entered an opinion
and order granting the motion to dismiss.
This appeal followed.
In Laurel Circuit Court Action No. 91-CR-00125,
Reynolds was convicted of first-degree rape and received a
sentence of twenty years.
His conviction was affirmed by the
Kentucky Supreme Court on October 19, 1995.
-2-
Reynolds
subsequently filed motions to vacate his sentence pursuant to RCr
11.42 and CR 60.02, which were denied.1
A review of Reynolds’ complaint in this case discloses
that the filing is, in substance, a collateral attack on his rape
conviction.
The primary relief requested is “injunction from any
further incarceration.”
We agree with the trial court and the
Commonwealth that Reynolds may not collaterally attack his
sentence through a civil lawsuit against various judges,
prosecutors, and court personnel.
There are three fundamental ways to attack the final
judgment of a trial court in a criminal case: by direct appeal,
by a motion under RCr 11.42, and by a motion under CR 60.02.
Gross v. Commonwealth, Ky., 648 S.W.2d 853, 856 (1983).
The
structure provided in Kentucky for attacking the final judgment
of a trial court in a criminal case is not haphazard and
overlapping, but is organized and complete.
Id.
Reynolds’
lawsuit seeks to attack his sentence outside the structure set
forth in Gross.
As Reynolds’ complaint requested relief which
could not be granted in a civil lawsuit of this nature — release
from incarceration — the trial court properly dismissed the
complaint.
For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the Laurel
Circuit Court is affirmed.
ALL CONCUR.
1
See Case No. 1996-CA-003382-MR, opinion rendered October
16, 1998.
-3-
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT:
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE:
Darrell Wayne Reynolds, pro se
Central City, Kentucky
Stuart Cobb
Assistant Attorney General
Frankfort, Kentucky
-4-
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