Bearden v. State

Joshua Matthew Bearden appeals the circuit court's summary denial of his Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief, in which he attacked his 1998 convictions for rape in the first degree and sodomy in the first degree. Bearden was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for each conviction; the sentences were to run concurrently. He did not appeal.

On July 18, 2000, Bearden filed the instant Rule 32 petition attacking his convictions. In his petition, Bearden alleged that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to render the judgment or to impose the sentence, that his trial counsel…