Price v. Attorney General of Kansas

Filing 3

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ENTERED: The petition for habeas corpus is dismissed and all relief is denied. Petitioner's motion 2 for leave to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. Signed by Senior District Judge Sam A. Crow on 3/18/2013.(Mailed to pro se party Jerrell Price by regular mail.) (Attachments: #(1) Unpublished Order) (smnd)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

JERRELL PRICE,
Petitioner,
v.

CASE NO. 12-3243-SAC

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KANSAS,
Respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This matter is a petition for habeas corpus filed pursuant to
28

U.S.C. §

Clarksville,

2254. Petitioner, a prisoner now incarcerated in
Tennessee,

challenges

his

2010

conviction

in

the

District Court of Dickinson County, Kansas. He proceeds pro se, and
the court grants leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
The petition asserts claims of false sentencing and journal entry
(Ct. 1) and false count in the journal entry (Ct. 2). Petitioner
appears to assert that he entered a plea of guilty to consensual sexual
activity but instead was convicted of incest. He seeks damages.
The court has conducted an initial review of the petition and
examined state appellate court records maintained on-line.

1

It

appears that petitioner’s appeal from his conviction ended on October
24, 2011, when the Kansas Supreme Court denied his petition for review
and became final for ninety days later, upon the expiration of the
time for seeking review in the United States Supreme Court.
Assuming for purposes of this order that petitioner presented

1

A copy of the state appellate docket is attached.

the claim he now asserts in the state appellate courts, he has
exhausted state court remedies and timely filed this petition.
Here, petitioner seeks relief on the ground that the journal
entry in his criminal case showing he was convicted of incest is
inconsistent with his guilty plea. However, the court notes that the
opinion of the Kansas Court of Appeals states, “Price pled guilty to
one count of incest, a severity level 10 person felony.” State v.
Price, 252 P.3d 646 (Table)(Kan.App. 2011).2
Under habeas corpus jurisdiction, a federal court cannot address
errors of state law and is bound by a state court’s interpretation
of its own law. Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 67-68 (1991). The
classification of petitioner’s criminal conduct in the journal entry
prepared in the state court is such a matter. Petitioner is not
entitled to habeas corpus relief.
Finally, plaintiff’s claim for damages must be dismissed for
failure to state a claim for relief. In Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S.
477 (1994), the United States Supreme Court held that damages may not
be recovered in an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for “allegedly
unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused
by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence
invalid” unless the prisoner first establishes that the conviction
or

sentence

has

been

overturned

or

otherwise

invalidated.

Accordingly, petitioner’s claim for damages based upon a wrongful
conviction will not accrue unless and until that conviction is set
aside.
IT IS, THEREFORE, BY THE COURT ORDERED the petition for habeas
corpus is dismissed and all relief is denied.
2

A copy of the unpublished order is attached.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED petitioner’s motion for leave to proceed
in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) is granted.
A copy of this order shall be transmitted to the petitioner.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED:

This 18th day of March, 2013, at Topeka, Kansas.

S/ Sam A. Crow
SAM A. CROW
U.S. Senior District Judge