Lockhart v. State
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Cite as 2009 Ark. 526
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No.
CR 09-1120
MELVIN LOCKHART, III
APPELLANTS,
VS.
STATE OF ARKANSAS,
APPELLEE,
Opinion Delivered October
29, 2009
MOTION TO BE RELIEVED AS
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT AND
STAY BRIEFING SCHEDULE
MOTION GRANTED.
PER CURIAM
Julia B. Jackson, a full-time, state-salaried public defender, was appointed by the trial
court to represent Melvin Lockhart III in the captioned case. As reflected in the Judgment
and Commitment Order entered on April 9, 2009, Lockhart was convicted of capital murder
and theft of property and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole plus 180 months, to
be served consecutively. A notice of appeal was filed on April 14, 2009, and the record has
been filed with the Clerk of this court. Ms. Jackson now moves to be relieved as attorney
for Lockhart and to stay the briefing schedule until substitute counsel is appointed.
In Rushing v. State, 340 Ark. 84, 8 S.W.3d 489 (2000), we held that full-time, state
salaried public defenders were ineligible for compensation for their work done on appeal.
Since Rushing, the General Assembly passed Ark. Code Ann. § 19-4-1604(b)(2)(B) (Supp.
2007), which states: “A person employed as a full-time public defender who is not provided
a state-funded secretary may also seek compensation for appellate work from the Supreme
Cite as 2009 Ark. 526
Court or the Court of Appeals.”
Ms. Jackson states in her motion that she is provided with a full-time, state-funded
secretary. Accordingly, we grant her motion to be relieved. Adam Hopkins will be
substituted as counsel for Lockhart in this matter. The clerk is directed to establish a new
briefing schedule.
Motion granted.
-2-
CR 09-1120
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.