Full Opinion

Cite as 2026 Ark. 187 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS No. CV-25-558 Opinion Delivered: November 12, 2026 LEE CHARLES MILLSAP APPELLANT PRO SE APPEAL FROM THE LINCOLN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 40CV-24-134] DEXTER PAYNE, DIRECTOR, HONORABLE JODI RAINES ARKANSAS DIVISION OF DENNIS, JUDGE CORRECTION APPELLEE AFFIRMED. SHAWN A. WOMACK, Associate Justice Lee Millsap is serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, plus seventy-two months, for capital murder, first-degree terroristic threatening, and second-degree battery. In exchange for the State waiving the death penalty, Millsap pled guilty to these charges in 1998. In 2024, Millsap filed the underlying petition for writ of habeas corpus in which he alleged that the circuit court that oversaw his criminal trial had sentenced him to consecutive sentences contrary to his plea agreement and, thus, his judgment was “illegal on its face.” Millsap also claims that the circuit judge overseeing his prosecution failed to advise him during the plea hearing that he had the right to withdraw his plea. The circuit court rejected these claims, finding that the sentences for the two additional felonies were imposed to run concurrently and that Millsap had otherwise failed to show that he was being illegally detained. Millsap now appeals the denial and dismissal of his petition, and we affirm. Millsap filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101, which allows a petitioner to obtain relief if the judgment and commitment order is invalid on its face or if the circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the underlying case.1 Unless the circuit court’s decision is clearly erroneous, we will affirm the denial and dismissal of the petition.2 Here, there was no clear error. When there is an allegation that the judgment and commitment order is invalid, the circuit court’s review of such a claim is limited to the face of the order itself. 3 The record shows that Millsap was sentenced to seventy-two months’ imprisonment for first-degree terroristic threatening and another seventy-two months for second-degree battery. But the circuit court, contrary to Millsap’s claim, clearly imposed these sentences to run concurrently. Thus, Millsap failed to meet his burden of showing, “by affidavit or other evidence, that he has probable cause to believe that he is being illegally detained[,]” and the decision to deny and dismiss his petition on these grounds was not clear error.4 Also, Millsap’s claims about the circumstances surrounding his plea agreement and eventual plea to the court are not cognizable in habeas proceedings because they require a review of the trial record, which is beyond the scope of a petition brought under Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-112-101.5 Millsap failed to demonstrate that the trial court 1 Jackson v. Payne, 2025 Ark. 61, at 2, 710 S.W.3d 463, 464. 2 Lea v. State, 2025 Ark. 84, at 1, 711 S.W.3d 295, 296. 3 Id. at 1–2, 771 S.W.3d at 296. 4 Stewart v. Payne, 2024 Ark. 48, at 5, 686 S.W.3d 508, 512. 5 Aikens v. Payne, 2025 Ark. 18, at 4. 2 lacked jurisdiction or that his sentence was illegal on its face. Consequently, the circuit court did not clearly err when it denied and dismissed Millsap’s petition. Affirmed. Special Justices CORY COX and ABBIE RUCKER join. WEBB AND BRONNI, JJ., not participating. Lee Charles Millsap, Jr., pro se appellant. Tim Griffin, Att’y Gen.; by: Michael Zangari, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee. 3