Hatfield v. Painter

The respondent below and appellant herein, Howard Painter, as the Warden of Mount Olive Correctional Center (hereinafter “appellant”), appeals from an order entered March 16, 2007, by the Circuit Court of Wayne County. In the underlying case, the circuit court granted summary judgment in a habeas corpus action filed by the petitioner below and appellee herein, Stephen Westley Hatfield (hereinafter “defendant”). The circuit court determined that the defendant was incompetent at the point in time that he entered his guilty plea. Thus, the lower court set aside the convictions and ordered a new…