Justia Arkansas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Jose Fernandez was convicted of rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant subsequently filed a timely petition for postconviction relief, raising a number of claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied the petition. Appellant then filed a pro se motion for belated appeal. The Supreme Court granted the motion because the trial court failed to provide the required notice to Appellant of the entry of the order denying his petition. Before the Court was Appellant's motion to file a belated reply brief. The Court declared the motion moot and dismissed the appeal, holding that the trial court did not err in denying relief and that Appellant could not prevail on appeal because none of the claims raised in Appellant's petition had merit.

Appellant Ralph Douthitt was convicted by a jury of three counts of rape, twenty-nine counts of violation of a minor, and twenty-nine counts of incest. Appellant later filed a motion for permission to file a belated petition for postconviction relief, which the circuit court denied. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to convince the circuit court to suppress evidence seized during a search of Appellant's garage. The circuit court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding that Appellant's ineffective-assistance argument was not cognizable in a habeas petition.

Appellant John Dickinson was convicted of capital murder and attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without parole. Appellant subsequently filed for postconviction relief, and the circuit court denied his petition. Appellant then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, making three allegations of error concerning claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and being improperly charged by information instead of indictment. The circuit court denied Appellant's petition without a hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant's arguments were either not grounds for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus or should have been raised prior to trial.

This appeal was the second of two appeals involving the same issue, the first of which was Curry v. Pope County, 2011 Ark. 407. At issue in the appeal was Ark. Const. amend. 79, which prohibits an increase in the assessed value on a principal place of residence after the taxpayer's sixty-fifth birthday unless that taxpayer has made substantial improvements on that residence. Appellant Howard Curry appealed a circuit court's order finding that improvements made to his property prior to his sixty-fifth birthday were "substantial improvements" within the meaning of amendment 79 and that Appellees, the Pope County Equalization Board and the county tax assessor, would be allowed to include these improvements in the assessment of Appellant's property. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court did not err in labeling the changes Appellant made to his property before he turned age sixty-five as substantial improvements, and (2) the assessor did not err in assessing Appellant's property at a higher amount than the assessment value in place when Curry turned age sixty-five due to the timing of the date of assessment value in relation to the date of property owners' birthdays.

Howard Curry's property appraisal increased on two different occasions after his sixty-fifth birthday. After the second assessment, Curry unsuccessfully petitioned the Equalization Board of Pope County to reduce the appraisal on his property. Curry then filed a petition in the county court, stating that the valuation was arbitrary and unreasonable and that the property was incorrectly assessed under Ark. Const. amend. 79, which prohibits an increase in the assessed value on a principal place of residence after the taxpayer's sixty-fifth birthday, unless that taxpayer has made substantial improvements on that residence. The county court ruled only on the assessment value and did not rule on the amendment 79 issues. Curry appealed and also filed a petition for declaratory relief and an injunction. The two cases were merged for trial. The circuit court ruled on the assessment, which was higher than the assessment in place on Curry's sixty-fifth birthday, and found that the improvements Curry made to his residence before he turned age sixty-five were "substantial improvements" within the language of the amendment. In the first of Curry's two appeals, the Supreme Court affirmed for the reasons stated in the second appeal, Curry v. Pope County, 2011 Ark. 408.

Appellant John Cummings entered a negotiated plea of nolo contendere to a charge of first-degree murder for which he was sentenced to a term of twenty-eight years in prison. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief, which the circuit court denied. Appellant appealed, contending that he did not enter his guilty plea voluntarily and intelligently and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney did not inform him that he would not be eligible for parole. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not clearly err in denying Appellant's petition because there is no constitutional requirement for defense counsel to inform clients about parole eligibility, and the failure to impart such information does not fall outside the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases.

Appellant Anthony Borum pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced as a habitual offender to twenty years' imprisonment. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Lee County circuit court, alleging that he was not accurately informed of the nature of the charge against him or of the minimum and maximum punishments for the offense. The circuit court denied Appellant's petition. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that because Appellant did not file the petition in the county in which he was held in custody, the Lee County circuit court did not have jurisdiction over Appellant and could not issue a writ of habeas corpus that would be returnable to the court to effect Appellant's release.

Appellant David Vance was convicted of raping his fourteen-year-old daughter and was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. On appeal, Appellant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support the rape conviction and argued that the circuit court violated his Confrontation Clause rights by excluding evidence under the rape-shield statute involving an alleged relationship between Appellant's daughter and another girl. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) substantial evidence supported Appellant's rape conviction, and the circuit court did not err in denying Appellant's motion for directed verdict; and (2) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's rape-shield motions as (i) Appellant's Confrontation Clause argument was not preserved for appellate review, and (ii) the question of whether Appellant's daughter and another girl displayed any sexual conduct toward one another was entirely collateral and was therefore not relevant.

Appellant Seafin Sandoval-Vega entered a guilty plea to capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief, which the trial court denied without a hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) Appellant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel concerning counsel's failure to have a court-ordered mental evaluation entered of record required a hearing as the report was crucial to Appellant's claim that he was not competent and the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction in taking Appellant's guilty plea before the questions about Appellant's competency were resolved; and (2) the remaining issues Appellant raised were without merit. Remanded to the trial court for new proceedings to provide a ruling and findings on the issue of the mental evaluation.

Appellant Dennis Riley entered a negotiated plea to charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery and received consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without parole on each count. Appellant then filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied the petition without a hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) Appellant did not make a showing that counsel manipulated him into accepting the plea agreement, but (2) the trial court's findings were insufficient for appellate review on the issue of whether counsel's strategic decision to recommend the plea offer was based upon reasonable professional judgment, and it appeared that a hearing was was warranted on the claim. Remanded in part.