ELLIS (DEMETRICK S.) VS. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
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RENDERED: DECEMBER 17, 2010; 10:00 A.M.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2009-CA-001582-MR
DEMETRICK S. ELLIS
v.
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE JAMES M. SHAKE, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 95-CR-003222
COMMOWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
APPELLEE
OPINION
AFFIRMING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE: ACREE, JUDGE; HENRY AND ISAAC,1 SENIOR JUDGES.
ACREE, JUDGE: The appellant, Demetrick Ellis, appeals the denial of his
Kentucky Rule of Criminal Procedure (RCr) 11.42 motion. The Jefferson Circuit
Court denied his motion without an evidentiary hearing and we affirm.
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Senior Judges Michael L. Henry and Sheila R. Isaac sitting as Special Judges by assignment of
the Chief Justice pursuant to Section 110(5)(b) of the Kentucky Constitution and Kentucky
Revised Statute 21.580.
Ellis was tried by a jury and found guilty of murder. The jury was unable to
reach a decision on the issue of penalty so the court, by judgment of conviction
entered on June 14, 1996, sentenced Ellis to forty years’ imprisonment. The
conviction was affirmed by the Kentucky Supreme Court on March 12, 1998. A
prior RCr 11.42 motion was denied and the decision was affirmed by this court on
February 4, 2000. Ellis v. Commonwealth, No. 1998-CA-002400-MR (Ky. App.,
February 4, 2000).
In the appeal now before this Court, Ellis appears to combine an RCr 11.42
motion with a motion pursuant to Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure (CR) 60.02.
However, neither is appropriate.
A motion made pursuant to RCr 11.42 must be made within three years after
the judgment becomes final. RCr 11.42(10). While there are exceptions to this
rule, they are inapplicable to the facts of this case. See RCr 11.42 (10)(a-b).
Therefore, because more than ten years have passed since his conviction, the
motion is time barred.
Ellis’ motion pursuit of CR 60.02 relief is also futile. Some arguments Ellis
presents were raised in his first RCr 11.42 motion. Moreover, relief under CR
60.02(a-c) must be sought within one year of the judgment; therefore, no relief is
available under CR 60.02(a-c). Relief under CR 60.02(d-f) must be brought within
a reasonable period of time after judgment is entered. In this case, judgment was
entered more than ten years ago and Ellis presents no new evidence, nor does he
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present any evidence that would justify the extraordinary relief afforded by CR
60.02. Thus, waiting more than ten years to assert these claims was unreasonable.
We review a trial court’s determination regarding CR 60.02 motions for abuse of
discretion. Brown v. Commonwealth, 932 S.W.2d 359, 362 (Ky. 1996). We see
none in this case.
For the above mentioned reasons, we affirm.
ALL CONCUR.
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT:
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE:
Demetrick Ellis, Pro se
Eddyville, Kentucky
Jack Conway
Attorney General of Kentucky
Joshua D. Farley
Assistant Attorney General
Frankfort, Kentucky
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