WALLACE L . HADLEY V. HON . CHARLES C . SIMMS, III, JUDGE, NELSON CIRCUIT COURT AND COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED OPINION
THIS OPINION IS DESIGNA TED "NOT TO BE
PUBLISHED. " PURSUANT TO THE RULES OF
CIVI_L PROCED URE PROMULGATED BY THE
SUPREME COURT, CR 76.28 (4) (c), THIS OPINION
IS NOT TO BE PUBLISHED AND SHALL NOTBE
CITED OR USED AS A UTHORITYIN ANY OTHER
CASE INANY COUR T OF THIS STA TE.
RENDERED : AUGUST 26, 2004
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
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2004-SC-0354-MR
WALLACE L. HADLEY
V.
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS
2004-CA-0424-OA
NELSON CIRCUIT COURT NO. 2003-CR-0373
HON . CHARLES C . SIMMS, III, JUDGE,
NELSON CIRCUIT COURT
APPELLEE
AND
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
REAL PARTY IN INTEREST
MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
Pursuant to CR 76 .36(7)(a), Appellant, Wallace L. Hadley, appeals an order of
the Court of Appeals denying his petition for a writ of mandamus . Through the writ,
Appellant sought to compel Judge Charles C . Simms, III, of the Nelson Circuit Court to
dismiss the indictment of first-degree sexual abuse against him on the grounds that the
indictment was defective for its failure to state the name of the victim .
On December 17, 2003, a Nelson County Grand Jury indicted Appellant on a
single count of first-degree sexual abuse . The indictment read in pertinent part that
Appellant engaged "in sexual contact with another person by the use of forcible
compulsion." On January 30, 2004, Appellant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment
for failing to identify the victim. The trial court denied the motion on February 9, 2004,
but required the Commonwealth to provide the defense with discovery within forty-five
days. Appellant filed an original action in the Court of Appeals on February 2, 2004,
requesting a writ of mandamus compelling the trial court to dismiss the indictment . The
Court of Appeals denied the writ stating that the "extraordinary remedy of mandamus is
unavailable where, as here, there exists an adequate remedy by appeal." We agree .
This Court decides the propriety of the denial of a writ by determining whether
the Court of Appeals exercised sound discretion or acted arbitrarily. Humco, Inc. v.
Noble , Ky., 31 S .W.3d 916, 920-21 (2000). A writ of mandamus is an extraordinary
remedy that should only be granted under two sets of circumstances : 1) when the
lower court is proceeding or about to proceed without jurisdiction, and there is no
adequate remedy by law, or 2) to establish that the lower court, although acting with
jurisdiction, is about to act incorrectly and there is no adequate remedy by appeal and
great injustice or irreparable injury would occur . Id .
We agree with the Court of Appeals that a writ of mandamus is not appropriate
under the circumstances presented in this case . An attack on the sufficiency of an
indictment is a cognizable claim on appeal. Varble v. Commonwealth , Ky ., 125 S .W .3d
246 (2004) ; Salinas v. Commonwealth , Ky., 84 S .W .3d 913 (2002), cert. denied, 538
U.S . 930, 123 S . Ct. 1585, 155 L . Ed . 2d 326 (2003); Thomas v. Commonwealth , Ky.,
931 S.W.2d 446 (1996) . Therefore, we cannot conclude that the Court of Appeals
acted arbitrarily.
Further, the Appellant's motion to supplement the record, to which the
Commonwealth had no objection, is granted . Additionally, the Appellant's motion to
advance the appeal and to stay the underlying action pending the appeal's outcome is
denied as moot .
For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed .
All concur .
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT :
Keith D. Duerr
Northside Place, Suite 5
4000 North Dixie Highway
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE :
Charles C. Simms, III
Geoghegan & Associates
116 East Stephen Foster Avenue
Bardstown, KY 40004
COUNSEL FOR REAL PARTY IN INTEREST :
Gregory D. Stumbo
Attorney General of Kentucky
Michael L. Harned
Assistant Attorney General
Criminal Appellate Division
Office of the Attorney General
1024 Capital Center Drive
Frankfort, KY 40601-8204
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