Ex Parte Pritchett

The petitioner, Robert L. Pritchett, an inmate at Limestone Correctional Facility in Capshaw, petitions for a writ of mandamus directing Judge Gloria Bahakel to grant his request to proceed in formapauperis for purposes of filing a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P. In 1985, Pritchett pleaded guilty to robbery in the second degree. In January 2002, Pritchett filed his fifth postconviction petition in the Jefferson Circuit Court, the court in which he was convicted. See Rule 32.5. Pritchett's petition was accompanied by a request to proceed in forma pauperis.…