Douglas Mac Clenney, Jr. v. State of Arkansas

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

September 16, 2004

DOUGLAS MAC CLENNEY, JR.

Appellant

v.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

Appellee

CR 03-647

PRO SE MOTIONS FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE SUBSTITUTED BRIEF AND FOR DUPLICATION OF SUBSTITUTED BRIEF AT PUBLIC EXPENSE [CIRCUIT COURT OF GARLAND COUNTY, CR 00-70-1, HONORABLE JOHN WRIGHT, JUDGE]

MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME GRANTED (FINAL EXTENSION); MOTION FOR DUPLICATION OF BRIEF AT PUBLIC EXPENSE DENIED

Per Curiam

Appellant Douglas Mac Clenney, Jr. has lodged an appeal in this court from an order that denied his petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Cr. P. 37.1. Because the appellant's brief did not comply with our Supreme Court Rule 4-2, we directed appellant to file a substituted brief. Clenney v. State, CR 03-647 (Ark. May 13, 2004) (per curiam).

Before the substituted brief was due to be filed, appellant, who is proceeding pro se on appeal, filed a motion for extension of time to file the brief. The motion was granted, extending the time to file the substituted brief to July 9, 2004.

On July 9, 2004, appellant filed the instant motion for a second extension of time to file the substituted brief. On August 10, 2004, appellant tendered one copy of the substituted brief with a motion asking that it be duplicated at public expense.

We grant the motion for extension of time to file the substituted brief but decline to grant appellant's motion to have the brief duplicated at public expense. There is no right under our rules or any constitutional provision to have a brief in a postconviction or a civil case duplicated at publicexpense. See Maxie v. Gaines, 317 Ark. 231, 876 S.W.2d 572 (1994). Nevertheless, in those cases where the indigent appellant makes a substantial showing in a motion to have the appellant's brief duplicated that the appeal has merit and that he cannot provide the court with a sufficient number of copies of the brief, we will request the Attorney General to duplicate the brief. In the motion at bar appellant has failed to offer any showing of substantial merit to the appeal. Accordingly, appellant is obligated to submit an additional sixteen copies of the appellant's brief within fourteen days of the date of this opinion to make up the total of seventeen copies of a brief required by Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 4-3(d). As appellant has had ample opportunity to submit the substituted brief, no further extensions of time will be granted. If the copies of the brief are not received by the date the substituted brief is due, the appeal is subject to dismissal.

Motion for extension of time to file substituted brief granted (final extension); motion for duplication of brief at public expense denied.