Arkansas Supreme Court Decisions 2015

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery and misdemeanor theft of property. In a separate case, Petitioner was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, filing a false report…

Justia Opinion Summary: When he was fifteen years old, Z.L. was charged as an adult of rape. An Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction (EJJ) adjudication order was entered, and Z.L. was committed to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS). When…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to one count of sexual assault in the first degree and was sentenced to thirty years’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of aggravated robbery, theft of property, and possession of a defaced firearm. Appellant was charged as a habitual offender, and each conviction was enhanced by five years…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional plea of guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated, sixth offense. Appellant appealed, arguing that his conviction violated the ex post facto clauses of the Arkansas Constitution and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1993, Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 36.4. The trial court dismissed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kenyghatta Davis brought a class action complaint against the City of Blytheville and its Water Department, arguing that the Water Department’s charging of late fees on overdue accounts was an ultra vires act because…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Appellant was convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant later filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the sentence imposed was illegal because he was sentenced as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: At a third trial Appellant was found guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant later filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging that trial counsel was ineffective, that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Appellant was sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate term of 360 months in prison. Appellant later filed a pro…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of multiple drug-related offenses and sentenced to 115 years’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of forgery in the first degree and sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed and remanded to correct the sentencing order to reflect that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Appellant subsequently filed two pro se motions in the trial court to dismiss counsel and to suppress a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees’ property was insured under a Mobile Homeowners Insurance Policy issued by Appellant. The policy provided that, in the event of a covered loss, Appellant would pay Appellees the “actual cash value” of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a construction company, filed this suit after the Arkansas State Claims Commission (ASCC) denied a claim by Plaintiff related to a contract Plaintiff had entered into with the Arkansas State Highway Commission…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 720 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus claiming…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner tendered for filing in the circuit court a pro se petition for leave to proceed in forma pauperis with respect to a petition for writ of mandamus and a proposed order granting leave to proceed in forma…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed both Appellant’s conviction and an order denying him postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs in this case were three female same-sex married couples and their children. One spouse in each married couple gave birth to a child, but the Arkansas Department of Health declined to issue a birth certificate…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of manslaughter and third-degree battery. The court of appeals affirmed. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Appellant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court reversed and dismissed Appellant’s conviction for capital murder, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of capital murder. Appellant also pled guilty to one count of possessing a controlled substance. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered guilty plea to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Appellant was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court revoked Appellant’s suspended imposition of sentences. The Court of Appeals dismissed Appellant’s appeal, concluding that the notice of appeals was ineffective to confer appellate jurisdiction because…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of rape and sentenced as a habitual offender to 300 years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Thereafter, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for postconviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a signatory to a family settlement agreement concerning a will that was subsequently approved by the circuit court. The agreement distributed a portion of the assets of the decedent’s estates to the estate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ashley Hartness entered into an oral agreement with Restoration Plus, which was owned by Rick Nuckles, for the restoration of his 1968 Pontiac Firebird. Dissatisfied with the restoration, Hartness filed suit against…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of one count of rape, one count of incest, four counts of sexual abuse, and thirteen counts of sexual assault. The court of appeals affirmed. While incarcerated, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees brought this suit against the City of Little Rock for just compensation for the taking of Appellees’ property in connection with a modification of the I430/I630 Interchange. After a jury trial, the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted for the rape of his minor stepdaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the petition. Thereafter, Appellant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of four counts of computer exploitation of a child in the first degree in violation of Ark. Code Ann. 5-27-605(a) and of twenty counts of distributing, possessing, or…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an inmate, filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The circuit court denied the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded on the basis…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to thirty counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, first offense. Defendant effectively received a sixty-year sentence in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the City of Siloam Springs filed a second amended complaint for condemnation of land and order of immediate possession of property owned by Appellees. The complaint alleged that the amount of $13,950 would be…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees in this case were hourly, non-nursing employees of Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs d/b/a Arkansas Veterans Home and Fayetteville Veterans Home (ADVA). Appellees sought class certification alleging that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, Floyd Gray, filed a complaint for injunctive relief and declaratory judgment seeking to challenge the eligibility of Appellee, Mary Thomas-Barnes, as a candidate in the mayoral election in Dermott, Arkansas.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of two counts of rape. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner later filed in the Supreme Court a pro se petition to reinvest…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of negligent homicide and inadequate insurance during an accident and sentenced to six months in the county jail. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and dismissed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of guilty to aggravated robbery and theft of property. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for reduction of his sentence pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 16-90-111. Approximately one year…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner entered a negotiated plea of guilty to charges in two criminal cases. Five years later, Petitioner filed an amended petition for writ of error coram nobis in the circuit court seeking to amend a previously…

Justia Opinion Summary: On December 2, 2010, Plaintiff, the husband of the decedent in this case, filed a medical-malpractice action against Defendants as attorney-in-fact for the decedent. The case was removed to federal court and then…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted on three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of theft of property. Petitioner was sentenced to an aggregate term of three consecutive life sentences plus 360 months’ imprisonment. Here,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated residential burglary, attempted kidnapping, first-degree battery, and aggravated assault. Appellant was sentenced to two terms of life…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Thereafter, Appellant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of residential burglary and rape. Appellant appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred in excluding evidence of DNA from semen samples found on the victim’s bedsheet and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of one count of rape and four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. The convictions were affirmed on appeal. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The circuit court denied the petition. Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of rape, residential burglary, and third-degree domestic battery. Appellant later filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the judgment reflecting his criminal convictions,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a prisoner, filed a petition for declaratory judgment and for writ of mandamus seeking to have the circuit court declare Ark. Code Ann. 16-93-609 unconstitutional, declare his commitment invalid, and order the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Parents’ three children, including M.A.E., were adjudicated dependent-neglected due to environmental neglect. Appellants, the children’s maternal grandparents, intervened in the matter and filed a motion for…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s pro se petition to reinvest…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Thereafter, Appellant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. For his sole point on appeal, Appellant argued that the circuit court erred in denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Appellant, Duane Gonder, entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and furnishing prohibited articles. In 2014, Peggy Gonder, Appellant’s mother, filed a pro se petition for writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, an inmate, filed a pro se petition for writ of mandamus or certiorari, arguing that the circuit court judge erred in entering an order that denied Petitioner’s pro se petitions for postconviction relief and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Petitioner filed a motion in the circuit court in three cases seeking to have the court compel the circuit clerk to file documents Petitioner had tendered in the proceedings. The motion apparently challenged…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father divorced in 2004. The circuit court approved the parties’ child-custody arrangement, and the parties were awarded joint custody of their minor children. In 2013, Father filed a petition to modify…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Arkansas State Board of Education (State Board) classified six schools within the Little Rock School District as being in academic distress. In 2015, the State Board voted to immediately remove all members…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department issued a bid invitation for a janitorial and cleaning-services contract. O.J.’s Service Two, Inc. submitted a bid for the contract. The Highway…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Appellant pleaded guilty to forty counts of rape, twenty counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of failure to appear. In 2015, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of capital murder, attempted capital murder, and two counts of aggravated robbery. Appellant was sentenced to a total term of life imprisonment without parole plus ten years. The Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and a firearm enhancement. Appellant was sentenced to a total of sixty-five years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to first-degree battery and first-degree criminal mischief and was sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate term of 300 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2000, Appellant was found guilty of rape, third-degree battery, first-degree terroristic threatening, and residential burglary. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape conviction.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In April 2015, nine prisoners (collectively, Respondents) filed an action challenging the constitutionality of Act 1096 of 2015, which set out the mandated state method of executing condemned prisoners. Thereafter, eight…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to four counts of aggravated robbery and theft of property and was sentenced to an aggregate term of 480 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed an untimely petition for postconviction relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2005, Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery. Petitioner was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. In 2014, Petitioner filed in the Supreme Court a pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery and kidnapping. Petitioner was sentenced to an aggregate term of 360 months’ imprisonment. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the introduction of a controlled substance into the body of her newborn baby. The court of appeals affirmed. At issue on appeal was whether Defendant could be convicted of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a second trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree battery, and aggravated assault. The court of appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences. Defendant subsequently filed a timely…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1983, Appellant was found guilty of three counts of rape and three counts of burglary. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Act 1780 of 2001, alleging (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of capital murder. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Appellant appealed, arguing for his sole point on appeal that the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. The Supreme Court affirmed in 1997. In 2010, Appellant filed in the trial court a petition for recall and for…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner later filed in the Supreme Court a pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, the Town of Lead Hill, Arkansas and Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority entered into a Wholesale Water Purchase Contract with a forty-year term for Ozark to provide potable water to Lead Hill. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bank of the Ozarks was designated as the successor trustee of the Hamilton Family Living Trust. The Trust’s primary beneficiaries were Larry Hamilton and Susan Cossey. The Bank had possession of the Trust’s assets…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) filed a petition for termination of Father’s parental rights to his son. Father had been incarcerated for most of the nine-year-old child’s life. After a termination…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Petitioner was sentenced as a habitual offender to 480 months’ imprisonment. Petitioner filed in the Supreme Court a pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of capital murder and criminal attempt to commit capital murder and sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment without parole and life imprisonment, respectively. Defendant appealed.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of sexual assault in the first degree and sexual assault in the second degree. Appellant was sentenced to concurrent terms of forty and thirty years imprisonment. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery, residential burglary, and third-degree battery and was sentenced to an aggregate term of 540 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Appellant filed a timely…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a concurrent ten-year enhancement for committing the murder in the presence of a child. The Supreme Court affirmed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of rape. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment. Defendant’s sole point on appeal was that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and furnishing prohibited articles. Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of 552 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery, theft of property, first-degree battery, and committing a terroristic act in connection with a drug buy. Appellant was sentenced to a total of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner entered negotiated pleas in four separate cases to possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated robbery, and theft of property. Petitioner also entered a plea directly to the court to a charge of residential…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to multiple felony offenses. The circuit court imposed an aggregate sentence of 720 months’ imprisonment. In 2014, Petitioner filed a pro se “Petition for Declaratory Judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeals reversed the original judgment. Petitioner was subsequently convicted of murder in the first degree and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Petitioner was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of sexual indecency with a minor. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner filed a pro se petition and supplemental petition to reinvest jurisdiction in…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of commercial burglary and criminal mischief in the first degree. Appellant subsequently filed a timely petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant’s motions for directed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered guilty pleas to aggravated robbery, theft of property, and residential burglary. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1, alleging that he received…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Petitioner was convicted of drug charges. After the conviction was affirmed on appeal, Petitioner filed a petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The trial court dismissed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2003, Petitioner was found guilty of capital murder and battery in the first degree. In 2015, Petitioner filed his fourth petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court so that he could…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of rape for the sexual assault of his stepdaughter. The court of appeals affirmed. Thereafter, Defendant filed an untimely petition for postconviction relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. Defendant was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment on the murder charge. Defendant appealed, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of capital murder for strangling his prison cellmate to death. Defendant was sentenced to death for the murder. Defendant appealed, raising three claims. The only issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of the rape of an eleven-year-old girl and sentenced to life imprisonment. Thereafter, Appellant retained counsel, and counsel filed a verified petition pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1, arguing…

Justia Opinion Summary: In three separate cases, Defendant pled guilty or nolo contendere to third-degree domestic battering, third-degree domestic battering (second offense), and first-degree domestic battering. Defendant later filed a pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Appellant was convicted of five counts of rape, but his convictions were reversed and remanded. In 1995, Appellant entered guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of first-degree…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of attempted capital felony murder and was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment. Now before the Supreme Court was Defendant’s pro se petition to reinvest…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, after a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of the rape of a child less than fourteen years of age and two counts of sexual assault in the first degree. In 2014, Petitioner filed a pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Appellant was found guilty of rape and sentenced as a habitual offender to 600 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of the rape of his daughter. The court of appeals affirmed. Defendant subsequently filed a petition and amended petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, asserting that the trial court lost jurisdiction when Appellant’s attorney admitted to what Appellant characterized as a conflict of interest and that his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual assault on a guilty plea. Appellant was sentenced to concurrent terms of 240 months’ imprisonment with an aggregate sentence of forty years’ imprisonment.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Appellant entered guilty pleas to multiple felony offenses. In 2014, Appellant filed a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus, making numerous allegations. The circuit court dismissed the petition. Before the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging that the judgment in his criminal case was invalid on its face. The circuit court denied the petition. Petitioner filed a timely notice of appeal.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Game wardens conducted an investigation into Appellant’s compliance with hunting laws. After the investigation was completed, the officers began a criminal investigation seeking information to determine whether Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Tracey Mills and David Smith. Appellant was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1979, Petitioner was found guilty of felony murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s second petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-taxpayers were indebted to the state for delinquent tax debts. The Department of Finance & Administration filed certificates of indebtness against Plaintiffs with respect to the tax delinquencies and assessed…

Justia Opinion Summary: After W.L. was born, Mother and Father consented to Mother’s parents’ exercising a guardianship over W.L. A year after the guardianship’s inception, Father filed a petition to terminate the guardianship. The circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants and Appellees owned property on two sides of Hurricane Creek. Appellants alleged that Appellees and past owners of the property placed fill material in the floodway and floodplain of Hurricane Creek and that,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of first-degree murder and committing a terroristic act and was sentenced to an aggregate term of 360 months’ imprisonment. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted and sentenced for one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, felony theft, and misdemeanor theft. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of capital murder. Defendant was sentenced to life without parole. Defendant appealed, arguing that the circuit court abused its discretion by declining to give his proffered,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants who worked for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) as hourly employees. Plaintiffs brought this action…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1995, Appellee was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. In 2013, Appellee filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus asserting…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a car dealership and related individuals, had an oral agreement that Defendant would use, free of charge, an empty bay at the site of its car dealership for its nonprofit and youth-outreach activities.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Arkansas Securities Commissioner filed a civil regulatory action against three individuals (collectively, Appellees), alleging that Appellees engaged in the sale of unregistered securities - in the form of notes for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted for the rape of his fourteen-year-old daughter and was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Defendant later filed a pro se petition seeking leave to proceed in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Appellant was sentenced to a total of 144 months’…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with the first-degree murder of John Davis. The jury found Defendant guilty of the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder. The court of appeals affurned, concluding that substantial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants were twelve nursing-home facilities doing business as Golden Living Centers in cities throughout Arkansas as well as related entities and individuals serving in leadership positions. Appellees, former…

Justia Opinion Summary: Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems, Inc. (Weatherford) provided oil-field services that included hydraulic fracturing to the oil-and-gas production industry in the state. The Arkansas Department of Finance and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered into a contract with Contractor for the construction of a new home. At some point after the project had begun, the parties had a disagreement, and Appellant ordered that Contractor cease work on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The circuit court denied the petition, and no timely appeal was taken. Petitioner in the instant motion sought leave to proceed with a belated appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a petition for judicial review of an administrative decision pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 25-15-212 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) seeking review of a disciplinary action brought against him by…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of raping a mentally handicapped sixteen-year-old girl. The circuit court sentenced Appellant as a habitual offender to life imprisonment. Appellant appealed, arguing that he…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of murder in the second degree and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Appellant was sentenced as a habitual offender to a term of imprisonment and a fine. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of capital murder. Appellant was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s argument that the circuit court erred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled nolo contendere to third-degree domestic battery and was ordered to complete one year of probation pursuant to Act 346 of 1975. Appellant appealed to the circuit court from the order of probation. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered negotiated guilty pleas to kidnapping, first-degree battery, and other charges. Appellant was sentenced to 336 months’ imprisonment with ten years suspended. Appellant later filed a petition for writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, a judgment of conviction was entered against Appellant for two counts of capital murder committed in 1989. The Supreme Court affirmed. Seventy-eight days after the mandate had issued, Appellant filed a pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with one count of arson. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence seized in a warrantless search of Defendant's burned building that was conducted three days after the fire during an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sued Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company (SFB) for breach of contract. SFB answered, alleging that Appellant’s claims were spurious and were made for an improper purpose. The circuit court granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Daimante, LLC was the operator of a golf course that contained two subdivisions. Gary and Linda Dye, property owners within one subdivision, filed a declaratory-judgment complaint seeking a declaration that certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was the owner of gas, oil, and other minerals situated within the Ozark Highlands Unit (OHU). SEECO, Inc. applied to create a drilling unit in the OHU and to integrate all unleased and uncommitted mineral…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a pro se motion to amend a petition for writ of habeas corpus previously filed in the circuit court challenging his conviction and sentence for four counts of rape. The amended petition alleged that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of four counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of misdemeanor theft of property, and one count of felony theft of property. Petitioner was sentenced as a habitual…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of capital murder, residential burglary, attempted capital murder, rape, and aggravated robbery. Petitioner was sentenced to death for the capital murder conviction. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2001, Petitioner was convicted of capital murder, residential burglary, attempted capital murder, rape, and aggravated robbery. Petitioner was sentenced to death for the capital murder conviction.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Now before the Court was Petitioner’s pro se petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of capital murder and two counts of firearm enhancements. Appellant was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional plea of no contest to one count of misdemeanor possession of a firearm by certain persons. Appellant appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, the circuit court found Appellant guilty of driving while intoxicated, second offense, and of violating the implied-consent law. Appellant appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a pea of guilty to two counts of rape and was sentenced to serve an aggregate term of 360 months’ imprisonment. Appellant subsequently filed in the trial court a pro se petition for writ of error coram…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant and a co-defendant were found guilty of capital murder. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for separate trials. The co-defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated residential burglary and sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 720 months’ imprisonment. Petitioner filed a timely amended petition for postconviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree battery and sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Thereafter, Appellant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed. In 2010, Petitioner filed a pro se petition asking that the Supreme Court reinvest jurisdiction in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of residential burglary and rape and sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 900 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Petitioner later filed in the Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2012, Defendant was convicted of three counts of rape and one count of attempted rape of a minor. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of three counts of second-degree sexual assault. The conviction was affirmed on appeal. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1, raising…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of kidnapping and rape. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with sexual assault in the fourth degree. Defendant moved to suppress a statement that he had given, asserting that, prior to being interviewed, he had not been advised of his Miranda rights. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted on multiple counts of theft of property for stealing horses and equipment from a university. Defendant’s conviction was affirmed on appeal. Defendant subsequently filed a pro se petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate in the Arkansas Department of Correction, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking relief from a judgment convicting him of rape. In his petition, Appellant alleged that his confession was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to the offense of capital murder. Defendant later filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he was being unlawfully detained because he was a juvenile at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of three counts of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Defendant sought habeas-corpus relief, alleging that he was being unlawfully detained because he was a juvenile…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was driving her car when she collided with Plaintiff, a pedestrian, in a crosswalk. Plaintiff sued Defendant for negligence. The jury returned a verdict in Plaintiff’s favor. Defendant filed a motion for a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the Supreme Court pertaining to a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus he filed in the circuit court. Petitioner argued that his petition for writ of habeas corpus…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court affirmed. Now before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s second pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment. Thereafter, Appellant, by and through his attorney, filed a motion for rule on clerk seeking to appeal the sentencing order. Appellant failed to file a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of rape and sexual abuse. Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. More than nineteen years after he was convicted,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of four counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping. Petitioner subsequently filed a timely pro se petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The trial court denied…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The circuit court denied the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded because the order did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of theft of property and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. Appellant, by and through her attorney, subsequently filed a motion for rule on clerk seeking to appeal the sentencing order.…

Justia Opinion Summary: There were eight justices of the Supreme Court poised to decide the appeal in Smith v. Wright. However, the Arkansas Constitution provides that the Arkansas Supreme Court “shall be composed of seven Justices.” At issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of two counts of rape. Before the Supreme Court was Petitioner’s third petition seeking to reinvest jurisdiction in the trial court to consider a petition for writ of error…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of fleeing, and resisting arrest. The court of appeals affirmed. Thereafter,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court found Appellant guilty of the offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI). On appeal, the circuit court affirmed, concluding that no culpable mental state was required for the DWI offense and that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief challenging a judgment of conviction entered against him. The trial court dismissed the petition. Petitioner filed a notice of appeal, which was not timely…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of capital felony murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner later filed a pro se petition seeking…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants received a credit card, and Appellee was the assignee of the credit-card account. When the account went unpaid, Appellee filed a complaint seeking a judgment against Appellants. Appellants were served with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, filed a motion to intervene in a class-action suit filed by Appellees, purchasers of surplus-lines insurance. Named as defendants were Arkansas surplus-lines-insurance…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed. Petitioner later filed a pro se petition in the Supreme Court seeking leave to proceed in…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and unauthorized use of property to facilitate a crime. The court of appeals…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of first-degree battery. The court of appeals affirmed. Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of raping his stepdaughter. The court of appeals affirmed. Petitioner subsequently filed a pro se petition for relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37, alleging a number of grounds for relief. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of mandamus alleging that Hon. Sam Pope, circuit judge of the Drew County Circuit Court, failed to timely provide a ruling on Petitioner's pro se petition for postconviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was found guilty in one case of aggravated robbery and misdemeanor theft of property. Petitioner was also found guilty in another case that same year of being a felon in possession of a firearm, filing a false…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging that the parole board denied him due process by failing to apply the statutorily mandated criteria for parole eligibility, failed to properly…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of nolo contendere to aggravated residential burglary, first-degree domestic battering, and first-degree false imprisonment. Three years later, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of capital murder and battery in the first degree. Petitioner was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court affirmed.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver and resisting arrest. The resisting arrest charge was merged into the possession charge and Petitioner was sentenced, as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of capital felony murder and aggravated robbery, with a firearm enhancement on each count. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was found guilty of rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Counsel for Petitioner timely filed an appeal from that verdict. The appeal remained pending at the time Petitioner filed this pro se petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Appellant appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence seized…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of three counts of rape. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1 alleging that he was not afforded the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of nolo contendere to a single count of sexual assault in the first degree. The circuit court accepted the plea and sentenced Appellant to eight years in prison. Appellant subsequently filed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled no contest to two misdemeanors and one Class D felony. At the time of his sentencing, the Community Punishment Act (CPA) allowed Appellant to petition the court to expunge the record of his offense upon…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty and possession of a firearm by certain persons. Appellant later filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis in…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to capital-felony murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court dismissed Petitioner’s direct appeal. Thereafter, Petitioner was party to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, Appellant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to attempted capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant was seventeen when he committed this offense. In 2011, Appellant filed a pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Appellant entered a nolo contendere plea to a charge of rape and a charge of incest. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the writ should issue on the ground that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Two School Districts filed suit against the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) asking for a mandatory injunction requiring the ADE to release all federal and state funds that they were due. The circuit court granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court appointed a special master to conduct a hearing and to make findings of fact as to whether court reporter Sheila Russell should be held in contempt for failing to comply with a writ of certiorari issued…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a per curiam order, the Supreme Court found that court reporter Sheila Russell failed to comply with a writ of certiorari issued by the Court for the completion of the record in the above-captioned case. The Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to two counts of robbery and was sentenced as a habitual offender to consecutive sentences of 300 months’ imprisonment for the first count and 300 months’ suspended…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Shadow Lake Property Owners Association and the Trustees of a family trust sued the City of Greenwood, claiming that two of the City’s ordinances relating to the annexation of property were derived in violation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of attempted rape and two counts of sexual assault in the second degree. The court of appeals affirmed. Petitioner filed a pro se petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted as an accomplice to both capital murder and kidnapping. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on the capital-murder charge. The Supreme Court affirmed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. Appellant later filed two pro se motions entitled “Motion for a State of Duress.” The trial court denied both motions. The motions consisted…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for relief pursuant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Harold Planchon filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals, but Planchon died before the case was submitted. Planchon’s attorney filed a motion for revivor and substitution or, in the alternative, to remand to the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed a pro se petition for leave to proceed in forma paupers with respect to a petition for judicial review. Also tendered for filing was Petitioner’s proposed order granting leave to proceed in forma…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner tendered for filing a pro se petition for leave to proceed in forma paupers with respect to a petition for judicial review. The petition to proceed in forma paupers was denied, but the petition and order were…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Appellant pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to murder in the first degree, aggravated robbery, first-degree escape and other charges stemming from his escape from a detention center after his attack on a correctional…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two sentencing enhancements. Thereafter, Defendant filed a petition seeking postconviction relief, asserting that he had entered the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to multiple felony offenses. Appellant was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment with credit for forty-five days spent in custody before sentencing. More than eight months after the judgment had…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1982, Petitioner was found guilty of capital felony murder and first-degree battery. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner subsequently sought leave…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees, all of whom were imprisoned within the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) system and under sentences of death, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, asserting, among other…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Appellant entered pleas of guilty or nolo contendere to six counts of attempted capital murder and one count of arson. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of nolo contendere to manslaughter, manufacture of a controlled substance, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence. Appellant later filed a pro se petition for writ of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners purchased an insurance policy from Allstate Insurance Company for their rental property. The rental property subsequently suffered fire damage, rendering the home uninhabitable. Petitioners submitted a claim…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of rape, kidnapping, robbery, residential burglary, and third-degree battery. Appellant was sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate sentence of 1,320 months’…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of capital murder, misdemeanor unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of firearms by certain persons, and abuse of a corpse. Petitioner appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced as a habitual offender to forty years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court reduced the sentence to a term of twenty years because one of the prior judgments used to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of commercial burglary, theft of property, and fraud. Appellant was sentenced as a habitual offender to serve an aggregate term of 1,200 months’ imprisonment. Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Appellant pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to forty years in prison. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition to correct his sentence pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 16-90-111. Specifically, Appellant…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed an unverified pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1 challenging the judgment of conviction entered against him in his criminal case. The trial court dismissed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated residential burglary, both carrying sentences of life imprisonment. Appellant’s counsel (“Counsel”) filed a motion to withdraw and a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder as an accomplice and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant later filed a petition for postconviction relief under Ark. R.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1983, Petitioner was found guilty of murder in the first degree and aggravated robbery. Petitioner was sentenced as a habitual offender to an aggregate term of life imprisonment. In 2005, Petitioner…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Appellant entered a negotiated plea of guilty to theft of property and theft by receiving. In 2013, Appellant filed a petition for declaratory judgment contending that the Arkansas Department of Correction …

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, judgment was entered reflecting Appellant’s jury convictions for possession of cocaine, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Appellant filed a petition for writ…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the General Assembly passed Act 1413 of 2013, which made numerous changes to the portions of the Arkansas Code pertaining to initiatives and referenda. Plaintiffs subsequently filed a complaint against Mark…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1986, a jury found Appellant guilty of burglary, aggravated robbery, and rape. Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate term of life imprisonment and twenty years. The sentence was enhanced for committing aggravated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. After the Supreme Court twice reversed Petitioner’s sentence, a third jury again sentenced Petitioner to death. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1987, Appellant was convicted of rape, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, and burglary. The convictions were affirmed on appeal, and Appellant’s subsequently filed petitions for postconviction relief were…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant later filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis, alleging that he was insane at the time he entered his guilty plea and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of no contest to a charge of aggravated residential burglary and negotiated pleas of guilty to aggravated assault and felon in possession of a firearm. The circuit court accepted the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to a single count of rape pursuant to a plea agreement. Appellant was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, the minimum sentence he could have received, plus a suspended imposition of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of guilty to kidnapping and stalking in the first degree and was sentenced to serve an aggregate sentence of 180 months’ imprisonment. Two years later, Appellant filed a motion to withdraw the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Appellant entered a guilty plea to first-degree battery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se “Motion to Enforce Guilty Plea Agreement” alleging that his counsel did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. In Ward I, the Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner’s conviction for capital murder but reversed his death-penalty sentence and remanded for resentencing.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. After the Supreme Court twice reversed Petitioner’s sentence, a third jury again sentenced Petitioner to death. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jessica Foust and Maria Montez-Torres lived together as a family unit with Montez-Torres’s two biological children. During the relationship, Montez-Torres had a brief relationship with a man and conceived M.F. Three…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint against Philip Morris Companies Inc. and Philip Morris Inc., alleging that Philip Morris violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA) by falsely advertising that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court entered a decree of foreclosure giving a suburban improvement district ("HISID") a lien against certain pieces of property for unpaid assessments. Appellant owned one of those properties. The decree…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother gave birth to S.H. in 2005. In 2008, Mother consented to a permanent guardianship over S.H. in favor of Father’s parents (Grandparents). Sixteen months later, Mother withdrew her consent and filed a petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Entergy Arkansas, Inc. and Entergy Operations, Inc. (collectively, “Entergy”) entered into an agreement with Siemens Energy, Inc. (“Siemens”) under which Siemens was to provide Entergy with services at three nuclear…

Justia Opinion Summary: When the Arkansas State Medical Board declined the application of Plaintiff, a breast oncology surgeon, for a permit to dispense legend drugs, Plaintiff sued, arguing that Act 515 of 1983, codified at Ark. Code Ann.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of capital-felony murder in Arkansas and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Appellant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Jefferson County Circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) amended its licensing requirements to include certain minimum general-liability-insurance coverage for all child-care centers. Plaintiffs, three school districts that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated robbery and theft of property. Defendant was sentenced as a habitual offender to a term of life imprisonment. Defendant appealed, arguing that the circuit court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of capital murder and four counts of committing a terroristic act. The trial court imposed a total sentence of life imprisonment plus 120 months. Appellant later filed a pro se petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of two counts of capital murder. Petitioner was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment without parole. The Supreme Court affirmed. This appeal concerned…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a civil rights complaint against the circuit court clerk and a deputy clerk (together, Defendants) seeking declaratory judgment and money damages. Appellant subsequently filed a motion for Defendants to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mason Mauldin, an employee of Central Flying Service, Inc. (CFS), was killed when the plane he was flying during the course of his employment crashed. Mauldin’s estate (the Estate) filed a wrongful-death complaint…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of theft of property and two counts of aggravated robbery for robbing a bank. At trial, Appellant argued that he was involuntarily intoxicated at the time of the robbery due to the combination of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a negotiated plea of nolo contendere to one count of theft of property-credit/debit card or account number and two counts of misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit card. Appellant filed a petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Appellant pled guilty to ten counts of aggravated robbery and one count of robbery. For one of the aggravated-robbery convictions, Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of rape, three counts of sexual abuse in the second degree, and three counts of sexual indecency with a child. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery. Though represented by counsel, Petitioner filed a timely pro se notice of appeal on his own behalf. The circuit court entered an on order admonishing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate, filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the writ should issue on the ground that he would not have entered a plea of guilty in his criminal case if his attorney had correctly…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of theft of property. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to support Appellant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of rape and tampering with physical evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed on all points except for the tampering with physical evidence conviction, which the Court reversed and…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of several criminal offenses. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court dismissed Appellant’s pro se petition for review. More than four years after the mandate was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, Appellant pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant was seventeen years old when he committed the offense. In 2011, Appellant filed a pro se complaint for declaratory…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Central Arkansas Water, which owns and operates Lake Maumelle as a public water supply, authorized the collection of a “watershed fee” imposed on wholesale customers, including Appellants. That same year,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Appellant was found guilty of rape and sexual indecency with a minor. An aggregate sentence of 480 months’ imprisonment was imposed. The Supreme Court affirmed. In 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of murder. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant then filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Defendant was convicted of three counts of rape, three counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of Class B felony kidnapping. Defendant’s convictions arose from three separate incidents that occurred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to multiple felony offenses. Appellant subsequently filed a timely pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The trial court dismissed the petition on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Appellant entered guilty pleas to first-degree terroristic threatening, second-degree sexual assault, and having violated the terms of a suspended imposition of sentence. Appellant did not appeal his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of committing a terroristic act, criminal attempt to commit first-degree battery, and four counts of aggravated assault. The court of appeals affirmed. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1986, a judgment of conviction was entered wherein Petitioner was found guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment. Before the Supreme Court here was Petitioner’s pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a motion for a hearing on the denial of a request that he had made to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory under the Freedom of Information Act. The circuit court dismissed the complaint based on Ark. Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the circuit court entered an order terminating the parental rights of Appellants, Abigail Ransom and Owen Harvey, to their minor child. Appellants failed to timely appeal. Appellants subsequently filed two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City Manager of the City of Hot Springs unilaterally allowed regular meetings of the Board of Directors for the City, including a public-comment period following the meetings, to be telecast. Later, at a workshop…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Appellant was convicted of rape, sexual indecency with a child, and possessing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child. The Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) applied Ark. Code Ann.…

Justia Opinion Summary: McHughes Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of Precision Analytics, Inc., McHughes’ client, against Lillie McMullen asserting that McMullen was responsible for a consumer debt incurred on a credit card issued to her…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of guilty to first-degree battery of a child in violation of Ark. Code Ann. 5-13-201(a)(9). Appellant was sentenced to 480 months imprisonment. Thereafter, Appellant filed a pro se petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: On July 9, 2012, Petitioner filed in the circuit court a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. Petitioner then filed this pro se petition for writ of mandamus seeking to have the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, apparently asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel…

Justia Opinion Summary: Metropolitan National Bank agreed to finance construction of a residential subdivision. As security for the note, Ruskin Heights executed a mortgage on the real property in favor of Metropolitan. The afternoon after…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was arrested based on a violation of drug laws. Cash in the amount of $5093 was recovered from Appellant’s vehicle at the time of his arrest. The prosecuting attorney filed an in rem complaint on behalf of the…