Carpenter v. State

The appellant, Shane Carpenter, appeals from the dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus, in which he attacks a prison disciplinary proceeding.

In processing this appeal, this Court realized that the trial court never ruled on Carpenter's affidavit of substantial hardship or his request to proceed in forma pauperis, see § 12-19-70, Ala. Code 1975, and that Carpenter never paid the docket fee in the circuit court. Because this issue affects the jurisdiction of the trial court to rule on the habeas corpus petition, we have, ex mero motu, noticed this defect in the proceedings.…