Court Opinion

ID: 7821884
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 17:57:29.767195+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:45.488564
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully disagree with the majority in this case primarily because they have apparently placed the appellant in double jeopardy. He originally received a single 42 year sentence on 21 counts. The trial court has granted relief on several of these counts after finding that he did not properly consent to a plea of guilty. The court refused to reduce the 42 year sentence and has placed the appellant in a position of standing trial on several counts which were included in the original conviction. If he is convicted, he will be sentenced again for the same offense. Marshall v. State, 265 Ark. 302, 578 S.W. 2d 32 (1979). The easiest way to dispose of this case is to declare the action of the trial court in setting aside the guilty pleas to be a nullity. The petition was filed more than three years after the pronouncement of sentence. Therefore, the court was without authority to hear the petition, unless the grounds asserted are such as to render the judgment void. Collins v. State, 271 Ark. 825, 611 S.W. 2d 182 (1981).