Court Opinion

ID: 9681591
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:53:02.74491+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:34.683349
License: Public Domain

Tom Glaze, Justice, dissenting. I dissent. The trial court erred in forcing appellant to trial. Everyone agrees that appellant had a right to appeal when the trial court denied appellant’s motion to dismiss on the grounds of double jeopardy. Smith v. State, 307 Ark. 542, 821 S.W.2d 774 (1992). By sanctioning what the trial court did here, we are holding that even though a losing party is by law entided to the right to file an interlocutory appeal, a trial court can nullify that appeal right by forcing the party to trial before he or she is able to perfect the appeal. On Friday, July 21, 1995, the trial court denied appellant’s motion, and appellant immediately informed the trial court that he would appeal. In an attempt to expedite matters, appellant filed his notice the same day. On the following Monday, July 24, 1995, the trial court related to appellant’s counsel that the court had been informed that appellant had been a problem in jail, and directed that appellant’s case would proceed to trial the next day on Tuesday, July 25, 1995. Appellant’s counsel was placed in the position of trying to perfect an appeal during the balance of the day, Monday, or prepare for the next day’s trial. Defense counsel contacted the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office and discovered that he could get no temporary stay because the Supreme Court was in recess. Obviously, defense counsel was left with a Hobson’s choice. If he tried to perfect an appeal in the remaining part of the day, July 24, he would have had great difficulty in obtaining even a partial transcript in the few hours he was allowed, and being in Clarksville, he had no assurance he could timely file it. Also, if he opted to chance an appeal, he would have little or no time to prepare for trial the next day. Our 1995 Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 36.9, allowed appellant thirty days from the trial court’s order to perfect an appeal, and he should have been allowed that time. In my opinion, the trial court abused its discretion in forcing appellant to stand trial over defense counsel’s legitimate objections. The trial court should have entered its order and allowed appellant thirty days to perfect his appeal. While I might well agree with the majority opinion in rejecting appellant’s double jeopardy argument, this case should be reversed for a new trial for the reasons discussed above.