Biddle v. State
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Cite as 2011 Ark. 24
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No.
CR 10-1045
Opinion Delivered
January 27, 2011
SHAWNA BIDDLE,
APPELLANT,
VS.
MOTION FOR BELATED APPEAL
TREATED AS MOTION TO FILE
BELATED BRIEF,
STATE OF ARKANSAS,
APPELLEE,
GRANTED.
PER CURIAM
Appellant Shawna Biddle, by and through her attorney, Mark Cash, moves this court
to file a belated brief. A judgment and commitment order was entered on September 10,
2009. No direct appeal was taken.
On October 8, 2009, Biddle filed a pro se petition for reduction of her sentence of
twenty-five years on ten counts of rape, claiming that she was unaware that the seventypercent rule applied. The circuit court treated Biddle’s petition as one for post-conviction
relief under Rule 37 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. On April 15, 2010, the
circuit court denied Biddle’s petition for reduction of her sentence, and Biddle timely
appealed that order.
The record was lodged on October 11, 2010, and the brief was due, after a seven-day
extension, on November 29, 2010. On November 22, 2010, a final extension made the brief
due on January 6, 2011. On January 7, 2011, counsel filed this motion for belated appeal.
Cite as 2011 Ark. 24
Because the record was lodged in a timely fashion, we will treat this motion as a motion to
file a belated brief.
To prevent an appeal from being aborted, we will accept a belated brief from a
criminal appellant if good cause is shown to grant the motion. See Travis v. State, 2009 Ark.
242, 308 S.W.3d 566 (per curiam). In Biddle’s motion, counsel stated that he had “another
round of heart failure” during the time covered by the final extension. Because good cause
is shown, the motion is granted.
Motion granted.
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
