W. W., a Juvenile v. State of Arkansas

W.W. v. STATE of Arkansas

97-1305                                            ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
               Opinion delivered November 20, 1997


Appeal & error -- motion for rule on clerk treated as motion for belated 
     appeal -- good cause for granting. -- An admission by the attorney
     for a criminal defendant that the notice of appeal was not
     filed in a timely manner due to a mistake on his part is good
     cause to treat a motion for rule on the clerk as one for
     belated appeal and to grant the motion.


     Motion for Rule on the Clerk treated as Motion for Belated
Appeal; granted.
     Alvin Schay, for appellant.
     No response.

     Per Curiam. 
     This is a juvenile delinquency proceeding in which,
appellant, W.W., by his attorney, Alvin Schay, has filed a motion
for rule on the clerk.  His attorney admits that the notice of
appeal was not filed in a timely manner due to a mistake on his
part.
     We find that such error, admittedly made by the attorney for
a criminal defendant, is good cause to grant the motion, which we
will treat as a motion for belated appeal.  See Terry v. State,
272 Ark. 243, 613 S.W.2d 90 (1981); In Re: Belated Appeals in
Criminal Cases, 265 Ark. 964 (1979) (per curiam).
     The motion for belated appeal is, therefore, granted.  A
copy of this opinion will be forwarded to the Committee on
Professional Conduct.