Alcorn v. Smith

This is a habeas corpus case brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petitioner was convicted of first degree sodomy and of being a persistent felon under Kentuckys persistent felon statute, Ky. Rev. Stat. § 532.080 (3)(b), which requires that one be at least eighteen years of age at the time he commits two prior offenses. The petitioner raises before this Court several grounds for relief: 1) Denial of due process by the district courts dismissal of his habeas petition due to a procedural default at trial without affording the petitioner a hearing on cause and prejudice; 2) Failure by the State to prove by sufficient evidence an essential element of the offense, which should be heard despite procedural default or, alternatively, should be heard because the trial attorneys alleged incompetence provided cause for the default; 3) Lack of proof of the elements of forcible compulsion and earnest resistance as required for the offense; and 4) Lack of proof of age at the time he committed the prior offenses as required for the persistent felon conviction.