Court Opinion

ID: 9758689
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:40:15.54813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:53.973513
License: Public Domain

JOHN B. ROBBINS, Judge, dissenting. I would deny appellant’s J petition for rehearing because McCormick failed to stricdy comply with Rule 24.3(b), and thus we did not err when we dismissed his appeal after the case was initially submitted. In our unpublished opinion dismissing his appeal we held that there was noncompliance with Rule 24.3(b) because “the record does not reveal that the prosecutor made any comments that demonstrated her consent to the conditional plea.” Because of our holding, it was unnecessary to address whether or not McCormick reserved his right to appeal in writing, which is also required by the rule. McCormick failed to adequately reserve his right to appeal in writing, and for this reason alone we lack jurisdiction to hear his appeal. The record shows that McCormick signed a document entitled “Plea Questionnaire.” He checked “yes” to the question, “Do you understand the effect of a plea of guilty to the charges against you, in that there is no appeal and you can’t withdraw your appeal later on?” The only indication on the document of any intention to enter a conditional plea was the handwritten notation, “Reserve right to appeal suppression issues.” The document was signed by neither the trial court nor the prosecutor. In Barnett v. State, 336 Ark. 165, 984 S.W.2d 444 (1999), our supreme court dismissed the appellant’s appeal from a guilty plea in part because a document signed by appellant failed to adequately reserve, in writing, his right to appeal the suppression issue. In that case, the appellant signed a plea statement with the heading, “GUILTY PLEA STATEMENT,” with the handwritten word “conditional” above the heading and the handwritten words “per Rule 24.3(b)” beside the heading. However, the supreme court held that there was no strict compliance with Rule 24.3(b) because the statement also reflected that appellant understood that if he pleaded guilty, he would give up various legal rights, including his “right to appeal a verdict against [him] to a higher court for review for possible error made against [him].” Similarly, in Simmons v. State, 72 Ark. App. 238, 34 S.W.3d 768 (2000), we held that the appellant’s attempted conditional guilty plea was ineffective to reserve his right to appeal because his “Guilty Plea Statement” explicitly contradicted the notion that his plea was conditional and that he was reserving the right to appeal. In that case, the statement signed by the appellant included a waiver of “[t]he right to appeal from the verdict and judgment, challenging all issues of fact and law.” We dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, notwithstanding the fact that a “Sentence Recommendation” attached to the “Guilty Plea Statement” contained the hand-written statement: “Conditional plea — re suppression — No objection to boot camp. No further charges to be hied. May appeal suppression pursuant to Rule 28 [sic] of Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure.” In the instant case, as is Barnett v. State, supra, and Simmons v. State, supra, the writing that purports to reserve appellant’s right to appeal also demonstrates that appellant understands that he is waiving that right. In light of this contradiction, it is my view that McCormick failed to strictly comply with Rule 24.3(b) and that his appeal should be dismissed without reaching the merits. On the merits of McCormick’s appeal, I agree with the result reached by the majority. GRIFFEN, J., joins in this opinion.