Arizona

Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure

Rule 33.3 – Nature of a Post-Conviction Proceeding and Relation to Other Remedies

(c)Generally. A post-conviction proceeding is part of the original criminal action and is not a separate action. It replaces and incorporates all trial court post-plea remedies except those obtainable by Rule 24 motions and habeas corpus.
(d)Other Applications or Requests for Relief. If a court receives any type of application or request for relief-however titled-that challenges the validity of the defendant’s plea or admission of a probation violation, or a sentence following entry of a plea or admission of a probation violation, it must treat the application as a petition for post-conviction relief. If that court is not the court that sentenced the defendant, it must transfer the application or request for relief to the court where the defendant was sentenced.

Ariz. R. Crim. P. 33.3

Added by August 31, 2017, effective January 1, 2018; amended August 29, 2019, effective January 1, 2020.

This rule provides that all Rule 33 proceedings are to be treated as criminal actions. The characterization of the proceeding as criminal assures compensation for appointed counsel, and the applicability of criminal standards for admissibility of evidence at an evidentiary hearing, except as otherwise provided.

Rule 33 does not restrict the scope of the writ of habeas corpus under Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 14. See A.R.S. §§ 13-4121 et seq., which provides a remedy for individuals who are unlawfully committed, detained, confined or restrained. But if a convicted defendant files a petition for a writ of habeas corpus (or an application with a different title) that seeks relief available under Rule 33, the petition or application will be treated as a petition for post-conviction relief.

This rule does not limit remedies that are available under Rule 24.