Danny Joe Gipson v. State of Arkansas

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

PER CURIAM

APRIL 3, 2003

DANNY JOE GIPSON

Petitioner

v.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

Respondent

CACR 01-408

PRO SE MOTION FOR TRANSCRIPT AT PUBLIC EXPENSE [CIRCUIT COURT OF CRAWFORD COUNTY, CR 2000-82-B]

MOTION DENIED

Danny Joe Gipson was found guilty of arson and sentenced as a habitual offender to 360 months' imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Gipson v. State, CACR 01-408 (Ark. App. December 5, 2001).

Petitioner Gipson, who contends that he is indigent, now seeks at public expense a copy of the trial transcript.1 As grounds for the request, petitioner states that the transcript is needed so that he may prepare an appeal brief. Petitioner, however, does not have an appeal pending in either appellate court.

The motion for transcript is denied. A petitioner is not entitled to photocopying at publicexpense unless he or she demonstrates some compelling need for specific documentary evidence to support an allegation contained in a petition for postconviction relief. Moore v. State, 324 Ark. 453, 921 S.W.2d 606 (1996); See Austin v. State, 287 Ark. 256, 697 S.W.2d 914 (1985). Indigency alone does not entitle a petitioner to photocopying at public expense. Washington v. State, 270 Ark. 840, 606 S.W.2d 365 (1980). Petitioner has not alleged that there is any specific documentary evidence in the transcript to support a postconviction claim or that there is some postconviction remedy available to him at this time. As a result, he has failed to show that the transcript lodged on appeal should be provided to him at no cost.

It should be noted that when an appeal has been lodged in either this court or the court of appeals, the appeal transcript remains permanently on file with the clerk. Persons may review a transcript in the clerk's office and photocopy all or portions of it. An incarcerated person desiring a photocopy of a transcript on file may write this court and request that the copy be mailed to the prison. All persons, including prisoners, must bear the cost of photocopying. Moore v. State, supra.

Motion denied.

1 For clerical purposes, the motion has been filed under the docket number assigned to the direct appeal of the judgment which was lodged in the court of appeals. This court decides motions for transcript because such motions are considered to be requests for postconviction relief. See Williams v. State, 273 Ark. 315, 619 S.W.2d 628 (1981).