Jimmy Don Wooten v. State of Arkansas

              Jimmy Don WOOTEN v. STATE of Arkansas

CR 98-73                                           ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
               Opinion delivered February 12, 1998


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

     Motion for Rule on the Clerk Treated as Motion for Belated
Appeal; granted.
     James O. Clawson, for appellant.
     No response.

     Per Curiam.
     Appellant Jimmy Don Wooten by his attorney, James O. Clawson,
has filed a motion for rule on the clerk.  The motion reflects that
Appellant requested a hearing in the trial court on his Rule 37
petition, and that such request was denied.  Clawson admits by
motion that the notice of appeal was not timely filed due to a
mistake on his part.
     Because Clawson has assumed responsibility for the error, we
treat the motion for rule on the clerk as a motion for belated
appeal, and we grant it.  See In Re: Belated Appeals in Criminal
Cases, 265 Ark. 964 (1979) (per curiam).  A copy of this opinion
will be forwarded to the Committee on Professional Conduct.