Title: Beshears v. State

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

Albert BESHEARS v. STATE of Arkansas

CR 96-738                                          ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
                 Opinion delivered July 14, 1997


1.   Criminal procedure -- postconviction relief -- written findings of fact and
     conclusions of law mandatory -- reversed and remanded. -- The supreme
     court could not reach the merits of appellant's arguments
     concerning trial counsel's alleged conflict of interest and
     failure to file a recusal motion because the trial court did
     not enter written findings of fact and conclusions of law as
     required by A.R.Cr.P. Rule 37.3; the supreme court has held
     without exception that this rule is mandatory and requires
     written findings; therefore, the court reversed and remanded
     the case to the trial court for written findings of fact and
     conclusions of law on appellant's claims for postconviction
     relief.

2.   Judges -- disqualification -- discretionary decision. -- Article 7,
     section 20, of the Arkansas Constitution and Canon 3(c) of the
     Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct provide that judges must
     refrain from presiding over cases in which they might be
     interested and avoid all appearances of bias; a trial judge's
     decision not to recuse from a case is a discretionary one and
     will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of that
     discretion; to decide whether there has been an abuse of
     discretion, the appellate court reviews the record to
     determine if prejudice or bias was exhibited.
3.   Judges -- trial judge did not abuse discretion in denying motion to
     recuse. -- Where there was no exhibition of bias or prejudice
     by the trial judge during appellant's Rule 37 proceeding, the
     supreme court concluded that the trial judge did not abuse his
     discretion in denying appellant's motion to recuse.


     Appeal from Jackson Circuit Court; Harold Erwin, Judge;
reversed and remanded.
     Dale E. Adams, for appellant.
     Winston Bryant, Att'y Gen., by:  Vada Berger, Asst. Att'y
Gen., for appellee.

     Per Curiam. 
     The appellant, Albert Beshears, entered a conditional plea of
guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to
deliver.  He was sentenced to forty years in prison.  In the direct
appeal, we affirmed the Trial Court's denial of Beshears's motion
to suppress.  Beshears v. State, 320 Ark. 573,