Title: James W. Robinson v. State of Arkansas

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION PER CURIAM DECEMBER 14, 2000 JAMES W. ROBINSON Appellant v. STATE OF ARKANSAS Appellee 99-475 APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LINCOLN COUNTY, NO. LCIV-98-88-3, HONORABLE FRED D. DAVIS III, JUDGE AFFIRMED In 1979, appellant was convicted by a jury in the Jefferson County Circuit Court of capital murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. We reversed appellant's conviction and ordered a new trial in Robinson v. State, 269 Ark. 90, 598 S.W.2d 421 (1980), because of erroneous jury instructions. Upon retrial, appellant was again convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. We affirmed appellant's conviction and sentence in Robinson v. State, 274 Ark. 312, 624 S.W.2d 312 (1981). Subsequently, appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus raising claims of actual innocence and ineffective assistance of counsel; the circuit court denied the petition. We decline to reach the merits of the appellant's appeal because his abstract is flagrantly deficient. Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-2(a)(6) requires an appellant to include an abstract of the record consisting of the material parts of the record that are necessary to an understanding of thequestions presented for decision. The abstracting requirement applies to those appellants who proceed pro se. Jackson v. State, 316 Ark. 509, 510, 872 S.W.2d 400, 400 (1994). We have often held that a summary of the pleadings and the judgment appealed from are the bare essentials of an abstract. Johnson v. State, 342 Ark. 357, 361, 28 S.W.3d 286, 288 (Oct. 12, 2000). This court does not presume error simply because an appeal is made. Id. It is the appellant's burden to produce a record sufficient to demonstrate error, and the record on appeal is confined to that which is abstracted. Id. We have noted that with only one record on appeal and seven justices, it is essential that the material parts of the record be abstracted. Id. Here, appellant not only failed to abstract the judgment appealed from, but he failed to include in his brief any abstract of the record at all. Appellant's brief consists merely of a statement of the case and a copy of his petition. This is plainly not enough to satisfy our rule. Appellant's brief is flagrantly deficient, and under such circumstances, we affirm. Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 4-2(b). Affirmed.