SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR-14-742
ISRAEL TODD WATSON Opinion Delivered October 2, 2014
APPELLANT MOTION FOR RULE ON CLERK;
V.
STATE OF ARKANSAS REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT
APPELLEE COURT FOR FINDINGS OF FACT
ON ATTORNEY ERROR;
CLERK DIRECTED TO ACCEPT
APPEAL.
PER CURIAM
Israel Todd Watson, by and through his attorney, Darrell F. Brown, has filed a motion
for rule on clerk. On September 19, 2013, the circuit court entered a judgment and
commitment order. Watson timely filed a notice of appeal on October 2, 2013. On
December 18, 2013, the circuit court granted Watson until April 19, 2014, to file the
transcript. At that time, although Watson would later be found to be indigent, family
members had arranged to pay $3,332.40 for what they believed was the full cost of preparing
the record. However, upon attempting to pick up the transcript prior to the deadline for
lodging the record, they learned that an additional $2,798.50 was due.
When it became apparent that Watson could secure no more private funds, he
successfully petitioned to be declared indigent. Although, pursuant to Arkansas Rule of
Appellate Procedure–Criminal 4(c) (2013), Watson’s transcript was due no later than May 2,
2014, on April 28, 2014, the circuit court entered an order extending the deadline for filing
Cite as
the record until August 19, 2014. The motion was untimely under Arkansas Rule of
Appellate Procedure–Criminal 4(c), and the circuit court’s assigned deadline also did not
comport with the rule.
In McDonald v. State,
(2004), we said that there are only
two possible reasons for an appeal not being timely perfected: either the party or attorney
filing the appeal is at fault, or there is good reason.
. When it
is plain from the motion, affidavits, and record that relief is proper under either rule based on
error or good reason, the relief will be granted, and if there is attorney error, a copy of the
opinion will be forwarded to the Committee on Professional Conduct. See
id.
In the matter before us, the motion and record do not plainly reveal whether fault on
the part of Thompson’s attorney caused the failure to timely file a complete record.
Therefore, we direct the clerk to accept the appeal and remand the issue of attorney fault to
the circuit court to make findings of fact so that this court may make a decision on attorney
error. Moore v. State,
