Latricia Polk v. State of Arkansas

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

October 28, 2004

LATRICIA POLK

Petitioner

v.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

Respondent

CACR 02-627

PRO SE MOTION FOR PHOTOCOPIES AT PUBLIC EXPENSE [CIRCUIT COURT OF ASHLEY COUNTY, NO. CR 2001-166-2]

MOTION DENIED

Per Curiam

Following a traffic accident in 2001 in which her car collided with another vehicle, Latricia Polk was charged with multiple criminal offenses. She was found guilty by a jury of driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault, aggravated assault of a family member, battery in the first degree, domestic battery in the first degree, driving without liability insurance, driving without a license, and driving without passenger protection. An aggregate term of twenty-seven years' imprisonment was imposed. The court of appeals affirmed. Polk v. State, CACR 02-627 (Ark. App. April 30, 2003).

Polk, who contends that she is indigent, now seeks at public expense a copy of material from the trial transcript.1 Petitioner invokes the Freedom of Information Act. There are no grounds statedfor the request.

The motion is denied. The Freedom of Information Act, codified as Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-101 et seq, does not require an appellate court to provide photocopying at public expense. See Moore v. State, 324 Ark. 453, 921 S.W.2d 606 (1996). A petitioner is not entitled to a free copy of material on file with this court unless he or she demonstrates some compelling need for specific documentary evidence to support an allegation contained in a petition for postconviction relief. See Austin v. State, 287 Ark. 256, 697 S.W.2d 914 (1985). Indigency alone does not entitle a petitioner to a free photocopying. Washington v. State, 270 Ark. 840, 606 S.W.2d 365 (1980). As the petitioner here has cited no specific reason for requiring the requested material, the motion must be denied.

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