Trotter v. State
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Cite as 2011 Ark. 116
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR 11-219
Opinion Delivered March 17, 2011
JOSEPH WAYNE TROTTER,
APPELLANT,
MOTION FOR BELATED APPEAL,
VS.
STATE OF ARKANSAS,
APPELLEE,
GRANTED.
PER CURIAM
On October 13, 2010, Appellant Joseph Wayne Trotter was convicted of rape and was
sentenced to sixty years’ imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Correction. On
February 25, 2011, Appellant’s counsel, Jim Phillips, filed a motion for belated appeal
explaining that he “inadvertently failed to file a notice of appeal in a timely manner.”
Belated appeals in criminal cases are governed by Rule 2(e) of the Arkansas Rules of
Appellate Procedure–Criminal, which provides in pertinent part:
The Supreme Court may act upon and decide a case in which the notice of appeal was
not given or the transcript of the trial record was not filed in the time prescribed, when
a good reason for the omission is shown by affidavit. However, no motion for belated
appeal shall be entertained by the Supreme Court unless application has been made to
the Supreme Court within eighteen (18) months of the date of entry of judgment or
entry of the order denying postconviction relief from which the appeal is taken.
Ark. R. App. P.–Crim. 2(e) (2010).
Further, in McDonald v. State, 356 Ark. 106, 146 S.W.3d 883 (2004), we explained that
Cite as 2011 Ark. 116
Where an appeal is not timely perfected, either the party or attorney filing the appeal
is at fault, or there is good reason that the appeal was not timely perfected. The party
or attorney filing the appeal is therefore faced with two options. First, where the party
or attorney filing the appeal is at fault, fault should be admitted by affidavit filed with
the motion or in the motion itself. There is no advantage in declining to admit fault
where fault exists. Second, where the party or attorney believes that there is good
reason the appeal was not perfected, the case for good reason can be made in the
motion, and this court will decided whether good reason is present.
Id. at 116, 146 S.W.3d at 891 (footnote omitted). While we no longer require an affidavit
admitting fault, an attorney should candidly admit fault in the motion where his error is the
cause of the failure to perfect the appeal. Avery v. State, 361 Ark. 352, 353–54, 206 S.W.3d
828, 829 (2005).
Mr. Phillips has complied with this court’s rules by timely filing the motion for belated
appeal within eighteen (18) months from the date of the entry of judgment. Mr. Phillips also
admits fault for failing to timely file a notice of appeal and takes full responsibility for his error.
For these reasons, the motion is granted. A copy of this opinion will be forwarded to the
Committee on Professional Conduct.
Motion for belated appeal granted.
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