Court Opinion

ID: 9677110
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:43:49.578213+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:53.889198
License: Public Domain

JOHN B. ROBBINS, Judge, concurring. I agree with the majority opinion to affirm this rape conviction. I write separately only to point out that appellant’s counsel has grossly over-abstracted the record on appeal. Arkansas Rule of Supreme Court 4-2(a)(5) provides, in pertinent part: The appellant’s abstract or abridgment of the transcript should consist of an impartial condensation, without comment or emphasis, of only such material parts of the testimony of the witnesses and colloquies between the court and counsel and other parties as are necessary to an understanding of all questions presented to the Court for decision. “[Ejxcessive abstracting is as violative of our rules as omissions of material pleadings, exhibits, and testimony.” Forrest City Machine Works, Inc. v. Mosbacher, 312 Ark. 578, 587, 851 S.W.2d 443, 448 (1993); see also Rose City Property Owners’ Ass’n v. Thorne, 299 Ark. 29, 770 S.W.2d 655 (1989); Coffelt v. Arkansas State Hwy. Comm’n, 289 Ark. 348, 712 S.W.2d 283 (1986); Oaklawn Jockey Club, Inc. v. Jameson, 280 Ark. 150, 655 S.W.2d 417 (1983); Harris v. Arkansas Real Estate Comm’n, 274 Ark. 537, 627 S.W.2d 1 (1982). In this rape trial, the testimony relevant to “forcible compulsion” was relevant to appeal. | ^However, appellant’s abstract includes pre-trial motions, opening statements, testimony concerning the process of the medical rape-kit collection and crime laboratory chain of custody and DNA test results (which are not relevant where everyone agrees the victim and appellant had intercourse), all jury instructions, closing arguments, the reading of the verdict, sentencing instructions, sentencing testimony, sentencing closing arguments, the removal of appellant from the courtroom, the rendition of sentence, and appellate instructions. This constitutes gross over-abstracting, well beyond what was necessary to the sole issue on appeal. Our waste of time in wading through this unnecessary material and the needless expense borne by the State in photocopying this material in multiple sets of briefs are not acceptable. In the future, I will urge our court to remand appeals for re-briefing where over-abstracting is apparent.