Smith v. State

Kenny SMITH v. STATE

CR 96-573                                          ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
                 Opinion delivered June 3, 1996


Appeal & error -- motion for rule on the clerk treated as motion
     for belated appeal -- good cause for granting. -- Where the
     clerk refused the record because the notice of appeal was
     filed prior to the date the posttrial motion was deemed
     denied, the supreme court treated appellant's motion for a
     rule on the clerk as a motion for belated appeal; an admission
     by the attorney for a criminal defendant that the notice of
     appeal was filed untimely due to a mistake on his part is good
     cause to grant the motion.


     Motion for Rule on the Clerk; granted.
     Michael L. Allison, for appellant.
     No response.

     Per Curiam.Per Curiam. 6-3-96  
*ADVREP*SC11*







KENNY SMITH,
               APPELLANT,

V.

STATE OF ARKANSAS,
               APPELLEE,

CR 96-573




MOTION FOR RULE ON THE CLERK





MOTION GRANTED.










     Appellant, Kenny Smith, by his attorney, Michael L. Allison,
has filed a motion for a rule on the clerk.  We treat this as a
motion for belated appeal.  Mr. Allison states by motion that the
record was refused by the clerk because the notice of appeal was
filed prior to the date the posttrial motion was deemed denied. 
Mr. Allison admits the notice of appeal was filed untimely due to
a mistake on his part.
     We find that such an error, admittedly made by the attorney
for a criminal defendant, is good cause to grant the motion.  See
In Re: Belated Appeals in Criminal Cases, 265 Ark. 964 (1979) (per
curiam).  The motion is therefore granted.
     A copy of this opinion will be forwarded to the Committee on
Professional Conduct.
     DUDLEY, J., not participating.