SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR-16-413
AARON MICHAEL LEWIS Opinion Delivered September 14, 2017
APPELLANT
V.
STATE OF ARKANSAS
DISSENTING OPINION ON DENIAL
APPELLEE
OF REHEARING.
JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, Justice
I would grant rehearing on this case because this court, and this court alone is charged
with the responsibility of interpreting the Arkansas Constitution. In my view, the mere
similarity of other constitutions to our own is not a compelling reason to adopt the decisions
of other courts—even the Supreme Court of the United States. I cannot accept that the
textual right against self-incrimination found in the Arkansas Constitution concerns only
verbal communication; in the case of Mr. Patane, his unlawful possession of a firearm was
proven conclusively because it was in his bedroom, which he alone occupied. United States
v. Patane,
, 633--34 (2004). Did it really matter that the finder of fact was
precluded from hearing that the gun was found exactly where Mr. Patane told police it was
located?
As I pointed out in my concurring opinion, it was completely unnecessary for this
court to adopt the Patane rule. I must agree with Mr. Lewis, this court’s rationale for doing
so is unacceptable. I would grant rehearing.
