Melder v. State
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 388
ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
DIVISION I
No. CACR09-1325
Opinion Delivered
MAXWELL MELDER
APPELLANT
V.
STATE OF ARKANSAS
APPELLEE
May 5, 2010
APPEAL FROM THE LONOKE
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[CR-2009-166]
HONORABLE PHILLIP T.
WHITEAKER, JUDGE
APPEAL DISMISSED
DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge
Appellant, Maxwell Melder, pleaded nolo contendere to the offense of
distributing/possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child,
a Class C felony. He was sentenced by the trial court to five years in prison, with two of
those years suspended, which is within the three- to ten-year sentencing range for a Class C
felony. See Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-401(a)(4) (Repl. 2006). On appeal, Melder argues that
the trial court erred in sentencing him to prison because the trial court’s reason for departure
from the sentencing grid, which recommended alternative sanctions, was arbitrary. For the
reasons stated below, we dismiss Melder’s appeal.
Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 388
Rule 1(a) of the Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure–Criminal provides in pertinent
part, “Except as provided by ARCrP 24.3(b) there shall be no appeal from a plea of guilty or
nolo contendere.” Rule 24.3(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure states:
With the approval of the court and the consent of the prosecuting attorney, a
defendant may enter a conditional plea of guilty or nolo contendere, reserving in
writing the right, on appeal from the judgment, to review of an adverse determination
of a pretrial motion to suppress seized evidence or a custodial statement. If the
defendant prevails on appeal, the defendant shall be allowed to withdraw the
conditional plea.
Since Melder’s plea was not conditional under Rule 24.3(b), the exceptions found in that rule
do not apply.
Our supreme court has carved two other exceptions for appeals, holding that an appeal
may be taken after a guilty plea when the issue on appeal is one of evidentiary errors that
arose after the plea but during the sentencing phase of the trial, regardless of whether a jury
was impaneled or the trial judge sat as the trier of fact during that phase, Johnson v. State, 2010
Ark. 63, ___ S.W.3d ___, and from postjudgment motions to amend an incorrect or illegal
sentence following a guilty plea, Reeves v. State, 339 Ark. 304, 5 S.W.3d 41 (1999). But
neither of these exceptions apply to Melder’s situation. Because Melder’s case does not fit
into any of the above exceptions for appeals after a plea of guilty, we dismiss his appeal.
Appeal dismissed.
VAUGHT, C.J., and GRUBER, J., agree.
-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.
