Title: Charles L. Patterson, Sr. v. State of Arkansas
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: CR05-167
State: Arkansas
Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court
Date: March 31, 2005

ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT No. CR 05-167 NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION CHARLES L. PATTERSON, SR. Petitioner v. STATE OF ARKANSAS Respondent Opinion Delivered March 31, 2005 PRO SE MOTION FOR BELATED APPEAL OF ORDER [CIRCUIT COURT OF INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, CR 88-14, CR 88-18, CR 88-19, CR 88-20, CR 88-21, CR 88-22, CR 88-23, CR 88-24, CR 88-25, JOHN DAN KEMP, JUDGE] MOTION DENIED PER CURIAM In 2003, Charles L. Patterson, Sr., who was confined in a federal penitentiary in Kansas, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court of Independence County.1 The petition was dismissed without prejudice on August 27, 2003. No appeal was taken, and petitioner Patterson now seeks to proceed with a belated appeal of the order. A petitioner has the right to appeal a ruling on a petition for postconviction relief, which includes the dismissal without prejudice of a petition for writ of habeas corpus. See Scott v. State, 281 Ark. 436, 664 S.W.2d 475 (1984) (per curiam). With that right, however, goes the responsibility to file a timely notice of appeal within thirty days of the date the order was entered in accordance with Ark. R. App. P.-Civ. 4 (a). If the petitioner fails to file a timely notice of appeal, a belated appeal will not be allowed absent a showing by the petitioner of good cause for the failure to comply with proper procedure. Garner v. State, 293 Ark. 309, 737 S.W.2d 637 (1987). Petitioner here offers no explanation for the failure to conform to the prevailing rules of legal procedure. Instead, the argues that the habeas petition was meritorious and should have been granted. As petitioner has failed to state good cause for his failure to conform to procedural rules, the motion is denied. Motion denied. 1 Petitioner entered a plea of guilty in 1988 in the Circuit Court of Independence County to multiple felony offenses and was sentenced to an aggregate term of forty years' imprisonment.