Summary
The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the denial of Benjamin W. Markus’s petition for a writ of error coram nobis. Markus argued that he was incompetent when he entered guilty pleas to two rape charges and that a competency hearing should have been held. The court held that the pretrial psychiatric evaluation showed he was competent and that he failed to establish an extrinsic fundamental error warranting coram-nobis relief.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the circuit court abused its discretion by denying Markus's petition for writ of error coram nobis based on his claim that he was incompetent when he entered his guilty plea.
- Whether Markus could rely on additional factual support raised for the first time in his appellate brief.
- Whether the existing pretrial psychiatric examination established that the alleged incompetence was a fact extrinsic to the record and unknown to the circuit court at the time judgment was rendered.
Holdings
- An appellant is limited to the scope and nature of the arguments made below, and the appellate court considers only arguments that were presented to and considered by the trial court.
- A petition for writ of error coram nobis does not warrant relief when the alleged incompetence was known or discoverable at the time of trial and therefore was not a fact extrinsic to the record that, through no negligence or fault of the defendant, was withheld before judgment.
- The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Markus's petition for writ of error coram nobis.
Key quotations
“A writ of error coram nobis is an extraordinarily rare remedy more known for its denial than its approval.” (2015 Ark. 228, at 2)
“Coram-nobis proceedings are attended by a strong presumption that the judgment of conviction is valid.” (2015 Ark. 228, at 2)
Factual background
In 2013, Benjamin W. Markus pleaded guilty to two counts of rape involving his four-year-old daughter and six-year-old stepdaughter and was sentenced to an aggregate 360 months' imprisonment. Before trial, at the defense's request, Markus underwent a psychiatric examination. The examining psychiatrist found depression and a history of abuse but also concluded that Markus understood the charges and potential consequences, could work rationally and effectively with counsel, could conform his behavior to courtroom requirements, and was competent to proceed. Markus later sought coram-nobis relief based on alleged incompetence when he entered his guilty plea.
Procedural history
In 2013, Markus pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and received an aggregate 360-month prison sentence. In 2014, he filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis in the Garland County Circuit Court, asserting that he was incompetent when he entered his plea and that a competency hearing should have been held. The circuit court denied the petition, and the Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed.