Howard Carl Whited v. State of Alabama
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REL: 04/17/2015 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0649), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter. ALABAMA COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OCTOBER TERM, 2014-2015 _________________________ CR-09-0909 _________________________ Howard Carl Whited v. State of Alabama Appeal from Blount Circuit Court (CC-07-526) On Remand from the Alabama Supreme Court PER CURIAM. The appellant, Howard Carl Whited, was convicted of sodomy in the first degree, a violation of ยง 13A-6-63, Ala. Code 1975. The circuit court sentenced Whited to 35 years' CR-09-0909 imprisonment and ordered Whited to pay $50 to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund and court costs. This Court affirmed Whited's conviction and sentence on March 14, 2014. See Whited v. State, [Ms. CR-09-0909, March 14, 2014] ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. Crim. App. 2014). Whited then petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court for certiorari review, arguing that this Court's decision conflicted with the United States Supreme Court's decision in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). Specifically, Whited argued that his trial counsel's performance was deficient under Strickland because, he said, trial counsel waived Whited's right to a closing argument. The Supreme Court granted certiorari review and, on February 6, 2015, reversed this Court's judgment, holding that "'the circumstances surrounding the case at the time of [Whited's] counsel's actions'" supported the conclusion that the decision of Whited's trial counsel to waive closing argument was deficient and that Whited was prejudiced by his trial counsel's deficient performance. Ex parte Whited, [Ms. 1130686, Feb. 6, 2015] ___ So. 3d ___, ___ (Ala. 2015)(quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689). The Court remanded the case to this Court for 2 CR-09-0909 this Court to order the circuit court to grant Whited's motion for a new trial. In light of the Supreme Court's holding, Whited's conviction for sodomy in the first degree is reversed, and this case is remanded for the circuit court to grant Whited's motion for a new trial. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Windom, P.J., and Welch, Kellum, Burke, and Joiner, JJ., concur. 3
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