Justia Arkansas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's pro se third petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court to consider a petition for writ of error coram nobis, holding that Petitioner's claim has been raised in previous petitions and rejected by this Court.Petitioner was convicted of residential burglary, first-degree battery, and aggravated robbery and sentenced to an aggregate term of 480 months' imprisonment. In his third coram nobis petition, Petitioner reasserted his claim that he was deprived of counsel during his criminal trial because his trial counsel's license was suspended at the time of trial. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding that the petition was an abuse of the writ. View "Washington v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court refusing to allow Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC to intervene in litigation brought by Gulfside Casino Partnership against the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and the Arkansas Racing Commission, holding that Cherokee was entitled to intervention as a matter of right.Five applicants, including Gulfside and Cherokee, applied for a casino license during the May 2019 application period. The Commission denied each application on the grounds that each failed to include a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution from the county quorum court. Gulfside filed the underlying suit asking the circuit court to reverse the Commission's denial of its application. The application period was reopened in August 2019, at which time Cherokee submitted its application. Cherokee then moved for intervention to defend its right to have its application considered. The circuit court denied intervention. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Cherokee was entitled to intervention as of right under Ark. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2). View "Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC v. Gulfside Casino Partnership" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree murder, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings below.The victim in this case died two hours after Defendant threw a cup of gasoline on him, lit a cigarette lighter, and ignited the victim's upper torso, arms, and face. On appeal, Defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to support the first-degree murder conviction because he did not "cause" the victim's death. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the State presented sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that Defendant caused the victim's death. View "Brown v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court finding that certain rent-to-own leases were subject to the special excise tax on short-term rentals of tangible personal property levied by Ark. Code Ann. 26-63-301(b), holding that the circuit court did not err.At issue was the assessment of short-term rental tax on transactions between Appellant, Rent-A-Center East, Inc., and its customers. The Arkansas Department of Finance (DFA) and Administration issued a notice of proposed assessment to Appellant for short-term rental tax, compensating-use tax, and interest. The proposed assessment was upheld. Appellant then filed a complaint seeking judicial relief from the tax assessment, alleging that DFA wrongly classified the rental-purchase-agreement transactions as "leases" or "rentals." The circuit court granted summary judgment for DFA. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the transactions at issue were taxable short-term leases and not nontaxable long-term leases. View "Rent-A-Center East, Inc. v. Walther" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part, and dismissed as moot in part the circuit court's order granting summary judgment in favor of the the City of North Little Rock, the City's mayor, certain City Council members, and other City officials and dismissing Plaintiff's action challenging the City's decision to condemn certain property, holding that some of Plaintiff's arguments on appeal were moot.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) Plaintiff's argument that the City Council proceeding did not contain any factual findings to support the condemnation and demolition of Plaintiff's property was moot; (2) there was no longer a justiciable controversy regarding Plaintiff's failure-to-exhaust argument, and therefore, the issue was moot; (3) summary judgment was properly granted to the City as to argument that the City's condemnation ordinance violated due process; (4) the circuit court did not err in granting summary judgment on the claim that the City's ordinance was unconstitutionally vague; and (5) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in declining to grant Plaintiff's renewed motion to strike the City's amended answer and affirmative defenses. View "Convent Corp. v. City of North Little Rock" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's petition for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.5, holding that the circuit court failed to make specific written findings of fact and conclusions of law on Appellant's last claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.Appellant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging, among other things, that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing adequately to investigate and challenge aggravation factors. The circuit court denied the petition. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the circuit court failed to make findings of fact or conclusions of law addressing Appellant's last claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, as required under Rule 37.5(i). The Court remanded the case to the circuit court for entry of an order that complies with Rule 37.5(i). View "Gay v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal stemming from an illegal-exaction case challenging whether a court-ordered annual service fee charged to customers by Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District to repay Ozark Mountain's creditors is statutorily or constitutionally permitted, holding that the order was not a final order.Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the order in this illegal exaction case was not a final, appealable order because it contemplated further action by the parties and the circuit court. Further, the record demonstrated that the Attorney General did not seek a Rule 54 certificate to certify the issues presented for appeal. Because the order was not a final order, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. View "Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District v. JMS Enterprises, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction fo multiple drug crimes, holding that the circuit court did not err or abuse its discretion.On appeal, Defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions because the State's expert identified the drugs only via visual inspection and that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the search warrant was defective. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported both possession convictions; (2) the incorrect information on the warrant was mitigated by the fact that the officers executing the warrant knew which home was to be searched; and (3) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion when it limited certain evidence. View "Kellensworth v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of first degree murder and sentence of life imprisonment, holding that the per se improper political activity of the prosecutor campaigning for a judicial position during trial so infected the integrity of the proceeding as to warrant a new trial.This was Defendant's third trial for the murder of Jesse Hamilton. The first conviction was reversed on appeal, and a mistrial occurred on remand. After a third trial, Defendant was again convicted of murder. Prosecutor Stephanie Barrett prosecuted the case, and at the time of the third trial, Barrett was campaigning for a position in the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Defendant moved for a mistrial based on an appearance of impropriety. The motion was denied. Following his conviction, Defendant appealed the circuit court's decisions related to the prosecutor's campaigning and solicitation of signatures at the courthouse. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the prosecutor's improper political activity and the failure of the trial court to resolve the situation so compromised the integrity of Defendant's trial as to warrant a new trial. The Court remanded the case for a fourth trial. View "Stanton v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court dismissing charges against Defendant based on a speedy-trial violation, holding that the circuit court erred in finding that the necessary conditions for implementation of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD), Ark. Code Ann. 16-95-101, had been met.Defendant filed a motion to dismiss all pending criminal actions against him arguing that he had not been brought to trial within 180 days of the date his notice and request for final disposition were filed, in violation of the IAD's speedy-trial provision. The circuit court granted the motion. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a detainer, unless based upon an untried indictment, information or complaint, will not trigger application of the IAD; and (2) the circuit court erred in finding that the IAD applied in Defendant's case. View "State v. Higginbotham" on Justia Law