Ex Parte Rice

This Court issued a writ of certiorari to review the denial of Cornelius Rice's Temp. Rule 20, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition.1 The denial of that petition was affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals, without opinion. Rice v. State, 555 So.2d 1205 (Ala.Crim.App. 1989). The questions presented are whether that denial violated Rice's due process rights and whether the State satisfied its burden of pleading under Rule 20.3.

Rice had been convicted of first degree robbery and had been sentenced to 20 years in the penitentiary. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals,…