Order
Public Court Documents
May 30, 1986

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Case Files, Bozeman v. Lambert and Wilder v. Lambert Court Documents. Court Order, 1983. 0d93540e-ed92-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/49d9fa84-c727-4ee4-851f-82df3809777d/court-order. Accessed September 03, 2025.
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7a MAGGIE S. BOZEMAN Petitioner vs. EAION M. LAI"IBERT; et al Respondents IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COTJRT FOR THE }{IDDLE DISTRICT OF AI-ABAMA NORT}IERN DIVISION ) ) ) ) ) EY ORDER This cause is before the C'Ourt on resPondents' Eotion 'to dismiss the petition for habeas corPus. Petitioner, ,nt is no!, on parole, has attacked her- conViction for voter fraud on numerous constitutional gror,rnds. She clairns that no rational jury could have found her guiLty based on the evidence Presented at trial; that the indictment faiLed to prowide her with adequate notice of the'charges; t.hat she was convicted of engaging in conduct Protected by the Const'i-tution and the Voting Rights Act; that the jury instrucEions created ex post facto liability; that the use of out-of-court Statements violated her Sixtrh Amendment rights; and that she was selectively and discriminatorily prosecuted. Respondents have moved to disniss for failure to exhaust state remedies. Petitioner asserts that no state corrective Process is available. 28 U.S.C. S 2254(b)' This Court a6lrees. The Alabama writ of error coram nobis is unavailable to petitioner because the Alabama courts clearly perrnit use of the writ only to raise facts that become known after trial FILED sEP t 1983 THOMAS CIVIL ACTION NO. 83-H-579-N The office of writ of error coram nobis, under Alabama law, is to bring to the attention of the. court an error of fact, unknown to the court or the affected party at the time of trial, which had it been known, would have prevented the judgnent challenged; indeed, the writ is in.effect a motion for new trial on the gror:nd of newly discovered evidence. Vaughn v. State, 395 So.2d 95, 96 (A1a. L979); see Thigpen v. State, 372 So.2d 385, 386-87 (Ata. Cr. App. L979); Sr:mers v. State, 366 So.2d 336, 339 (Ala. Cr.App. 1978). None of petitioner's claims raises the gror:nd of newly discovered evidence; rather, all relace to [fre conduct of the trial: Th" writ also lies to raise a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Sr:mmers v. State, supra, Bt 34L , but Petitioner has raised no such claim. The state writ of habeas corpus also is unavailable to petitioner , bec,ause she is a parolee . Llilliares v. State, 155 So.2d 322 (A1a.App.), cert. denied, I55 So.2d 323 (1963), held that habeas is available only to a Petitioner who is under "actual or physical restraint. " The court characte rLzed parole as "mere moral restraint." Id. at 323; accord, State v' McCurley, 4L2 So.2d L233, L235 (Ala. Cr. APP.), cert. denied, 412 So.2d L236 (198I), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 1006 (1983). Petitioner need not EIo through the motions of attemPtinB to persuade the state courts to overrule l'lil1ians. BIackled.ee v. Perry , /+L7 U. S . 2L, 24 (197a); see Galtieri v. l'lainwright, 582 F.2d 348, 354-55 n.13 (5th Cir. 1976). Thus, D€ither -2 Alabama writ is available to petitioner, and she satisfies the exhaustion requirement. Accordingly, it is ORDERXD that the motion to dismiss is denied. Respondents are ORDERED to comply with this Court's Order of Jr:ne 28, 1983, to show cause why the writ should not issue, on or before twenty days from the date of this order. Respondents at that time also should file any response they may have to petitioner's motion to furnish transcripts. Said motion will be deemed submitted to the Court_.twenty days from the date of this order, and may be decided'at any time thereafter: DONE this lst day of September, f983. 5 , 4i://^ I]NITED STATES DISTRICI JUDGE )- srp o 21983 -3