Opinion

Harkness v. State

  • 264 Ark. 561
  • 572 S.W.2d 835
  • 1978 Ark. LEXIS 2152
Court
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Filed
Nov 13, 1978
Status
Published
Author
Byrd
On the bench
Byrd, Hickman
Cited by
49 cases
Authority
More cited than 99.5%

The opinion

Conley Byrd, Justice. This is a motion by petitioner Alfred D. Harkness for a rule on the Clerk to file a record tendered two days late — i.e. on the 92nd day. Attached to the motion is the affidavit of Frank C. Elcan II, the Deputy Public Defender for Crittenden County from which it appears that he, as attorney for Petitioner, had inadvertently miscalculated the 90 day limit for filing appeals in this Court. The authorities Blanchard v. Brewer, 429 F. 2d 89 (8th Cir. 1970), hold that the denial of an appeal for such causes amounts to a denial of a constitutional right, on the theory that such a miscalculation, although honestly made, amounts to ineffective assistance of counsel.

The State has not controverted the affidavit of Frank C. Elcan II. Consequently, we must accept the assertions in the affidavit as true for purpose of hearing this motion.

Since to deny the Motion for a Rule on the Clerk would furnish grounds for Petitioner to obtain a new trial in a post-conviction proceeding, we as a pragmatical matter must grant the motion to docket the record as a belated appeal.

Rule granted.

Hickman, J., dissents.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.