Donnietha Bradford v. Honorable David Goodson, Circuit Judge

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT

No. CR 05-165

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

DONNIETHA BRADFORD

Petitioner

v.

HON. DAVID GOODSON, CIRCUIT JUDGE

Respondent

Opinion Delivered May 26, 2005

PRO SE AMENDED PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS [CIRCUIT COURT OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY, CHICKASAWBA DISTRICT, CR 94-373 (DG)]

AMENDED PETITION MOOT

PER CURIAM

On March 28, 2005, Donnietha Bradford filed a pro se amended petition for writ of mandamus in this court contending that Circuit Judge David Goodson had failed to act in a timely manner on a motion to allow allocution and to correct sentence filed June 3, 2003, in the Circuit Court of Mississippi County, Chickasawba District.1 On April 14, 2005, Judge Goodson entered an order disposing of the motion.

Because there was no explanation in the court's order on the motion for the twenty-two-month delay in acting on the motion, the respondent was asked to file a response to the mandamus petition explaining the delay. Bradford v. Goodson, CR 05-165 (Ark. May 5, 2005) (per curiam). The response explained that Judge Goodson was unaware that the motion had been filed by petitioner Bradford until he received a letter dated March 16, 2005, from the circuit clerk advising him that his name had been drawn from the pool of judges and Bradford's motion was assigned to his court. Judge Goodson notes in the response that the circuit clerks in his judicial district had been instructed to reassign new pleadings in the event that the judge to whom the case was originally assigned was no longer subject to assignment in that particular venue. Through an apparent clerical error or oversight, the reassignment was not made in petitioner's case until March 16, 2005. As Judge Goodson acted on petitioner's motion within thirty days of its being assigned to his court, the petition for writ of mandamus is moot.

Petition moot.

Imber, J., not participating.

1 Petitioner initially named Circuit Judge Victor Hill as respondent in the petition for writ of mandamus filed February 14, 2005. Judge Hill subsequently informed this court that petitioner's motion was not assigned to his court. Petitioner filed the amended petition on March 28, 2005, naming Judge Goodson as respondent.