Grissom v. State
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT
No.
CR 09-382
Opinion Delivered
WESLEY E. GRISSOM
Petitioner
May 28, 2009
v.
PRO SE MOTION FOR BELATED
APPEAL [CIRCUIT COURT OF
GARLAND COUNTY, CR 2006-611,
HON. MARCIA R. HEARNSBERGER,
JUDGE]
STATE OF ARKANSAS
Respondent
MOTION DENIED.
PER CURIAM
In 2008, petitioner Wesley E. Grissom entered a plea of guilty to first-degree sexual assault
and was sentenced to 660 months’ imprisonment. The judgment and commitment order was filed
on September 18, 2008.
On April 14, 2009, petitioner filed in this court a pro se motion for a belated appeal from the
judgment. Therein, petitioner contends that he has a constitutional right to an appeal. Further, he
states that his trial counsel refused to pursue the appeal because counsel advised him that there was
no right to an appeal from petitioner’s guilty plea.
Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure–Criminal 1(a) provides that there is no direct appeal
from a plea of guilty. An exception is created when a conditional plea of guilty is premised on an
appeal of the denial of a suppression motion pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 24.3.
Seibs v. State, 357 Ark. 331, 166 S.W.3d 16 (2004). Two other exceptions to the general rule, as set
out in Seibs and Bradford v. State, 351 Ark. 394, 94 S.W.3d 904 (2003), are (1) when there is a
challenge to testimony or evidence presented before a jury in a sentencing hearing separate from the
plea itself, and (2) when the appeal is from a posttrial motion challenging the validity and legality
of the sentence itself.
Here, petitioner does not contend, and the record does not reflect, that his plea of guilty was
conditional or fit within one of the above exceptions. As a result, petitioner had no right to an appeal
from the September 18, 2008, judgment. The motion for belated appeal is meritless.
Motion denied.
-2-
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.
