Opinion ID: 1393876
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hammon v. State

Text: The first of the three combined motions to withdraw is in the case of Hammon v. State, CR 00-1259. Roger Allen Hammon was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. We affirmed the judgment. Hammon v. State, 338 Ark. 733, 2 S.W.3d 50 (1999). Mr. Hammon filed a Rule 37 petition pro se, and the circuit court appointed Dave Wisdom Harrod, the public defender for Cleburne County, as counsel for Mr. Hammon in the Rule 37 proceeding. Mr. Harrod represented Mr. Hammon at a hearing on the petition for postconviction relief in White County Circuit Court. On September 14, 2000, the circuit court denied the Rule 37 petition. About one week later, Mr. Harrod terminated his employment with the State Public Defender's Office. On September 26, 2000, Mr. Hammon filed a pro se notice of appeal from the denial of his petition for postconviction relief, and the record was lodged in this court on October 31, 2000. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Harrod filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and requested the substitution of the new public defender as attorney of record for Mr. Hammon. We ruled that Mr. Harrod's motion to withdraw should be briefed and submitted as a case. On February 23, 2001, Mr. Harrod filed an amended motion to withdraw. We denied Mr. Harrod's amended motion to withdraw on March 15, 2001, and allowed him an extension of ninety days in which to file a brief on Mr. Hammon's behalf. On June 20, 2001, Mr. Harrod filed a brief asserting that any appeal in the case would be wholly without merit and asking to be allowed to withdraw as counsel pursuant to Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 4-3(j)(1) (2001). Following Mr. Harrod's filing of the motion and brief, Mr. Hammon filed pro se points for reversal. Mr. Harrod's original motion to withdraw as counsel for Mr. Hammon is moot because Mr. Harrod has already filed an abstract and brief on Mr. Hammon's behalf pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967) and Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 4-3(j) (2001). Accordingly, we must deny Mr. Harrod's original motion to withdraw as attorney-of-record.