Hall v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A]lthough a claim on direct appeal that the circuit court imposed an unauthorized sentence has been described as 'jurisdictional' in some cases-particularly before Ex parte Seymour -such a claim is more properly characterized as not being subject to the ordinary rules of preservation and waiver on direct appeal.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Anthony v. State · 241 So. 3d 749 - Campbell v. State

2. “"Hall has alleged that his sentence was 'illegal' because the circuit court failed to impose on him a $1,000 demand-reduction assessment [pursuant to § 13A-12-281, Ala. Code 1975 ]. To 'cure' this error, Hall contends that he is entitled to the postconviction 'relief' of being resentenced by the circuit court so that court could impose on him the demand-reduction assessment. In other words, Hall seeks to use Rule 32 to receive additional punishment from the circuit court. This is nonsense. "It is not difficult to imagine other ridiculous scenarios. For example, imagine a Rule 32 petitioner who alleges that he was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for a conviction for a Class C felony. Imagine further that he claims that his 10-year sentence is 'illegal' because, he says, he has three prior felony offenses for purposes of the Habitual Felony Offender Act ('the HFOA'); that the State invoked the HFOA and properly proved all three prior felony offenses at his sentencing hearing; and that the circuit court, although acknowledging the existence of the three prior felony offenses, did not sentence him under the HFOA. Because, he says, his sentence is 'unauthorized' under the HFOA, and because '[m]atters concerning unauthorized sentences are jurisdictional,' the circuit court must 'grant' him postconviction 'relief' and resentence him to a harsher sentence under the HFOA--up to, and including, life imprisonment. This simply is not 'relief.' "Like the writ of habeas corpus, Rule 32”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Lanier v. State

3. “Even after Ex parte Seymour , however, this Court and the Alabama Supreme Court have continued to refer to statutes of limitations as a 'jurisdictional' matter. In Ex parte Ward , 46 So.3d 888 (Ala. 2007), the Alabama Supreme Court noted that this Court had 'conflated statutes of limitations with procedural limitations periods such as the one in Rule 32.2(c)[, Ala. R. Crim. P.].' The Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Ward clearly distinguished procedural limitations periods from statutory limitations periods on criminal prosecution. Procedural limitations are affirmative defenses subject to the ordinary rules regarding waiver. Statutory limitations periods in a criminal prosecution, however, are 'jurisdictional'-not in the sense of affecting the subject-matter jurisdiction of the circuit court but in the sense of not being subject to the ordinary rules of preservation and waiver.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 241 So. 3d 749 - Campbell v. State