Oliver v. Hobbs ( 2014 )

Cite as 2014 Ark. 339
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CV-14-485
Opinion Delivered July 31, 2014
PRO SE MOTION FOR BELATED
BENJAMIN OLIVER APPEAL OF ORDER
PETITIONER [LEE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, NO.
39CV-13-4]
V.
HONORABLE L.T. SIMES, JUDGE
RAY HOBBS, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION
RESPONDENT MOTION DENIED.
PER CURIAM
In 2013, petitioner Benjamin Oliver filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in
the circuit court in Lee County where he is incarcerated.1 The circuit court denied the petition.
No appeal was taken, and petitioner now seeks leave to proceed with a belated appeal.
Arkansas Rule of Appellate Procedure–Civil 4(a) (2013) requires that a notice of appeal
be filed within thirty days of the date an order is entered. Petitioner contends that he did not
file a timely notice of appeal because he was not promptly notified by the circuit clerk that the
order had been entered.
A petitioner has the right to appeal a ruling on a petition for postconviction relief, which
includes the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Sillivan v. Hobbs, 2014 Ark. 88 (per
curiam); McDaniel v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 107 (per curiam); Wesley v. Harmon, 2010 Ark. 21 (per
1
As of the date of this opinion, petitioner remains incarcerated at the prison facility in Lee
County.
Cite as 2014 Ark. 339
curiam); McClain v. Norris, 2009 Ark. 428 (per curiam). If the petitioner fails to file a timely
notice of appeal, a belated appeal will not be allowed absent a showing by the petitioner of good
cause for the failure to comply with proper procedure. McDaniel, 2013 Ark. 107; Wesley, 2010
Ark. 21; Garner v. State, 293 Ark. 309, 737 S.W.2d 637 (1987) (per curiam).
Even if the order was not promptly forwarded to petitioner, that fact in itself does not
constitute good cause for petitioner’s failure to follow procedure. In contrast to the denial of
a petition for postconviction relief under Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.1 (2013),2
there is no absolute duty imposed in the statute on a judge or clerk to notify a petitioner that a
petition for writ of habeas corpus has been denied. Wesley, 2010 Ark. 21; McClain, 2009 Ark.
428; Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-112-101 to -123 (Repl. 2006).
Our law imposes a duty on lawyers and litigants to exercise reasonable diligence to keep
up with the status of cases. Wesley, 2010 Ark. 21; McClain, 2009 Ark. 428. The pro se litigant
receives no special consideration in this regard. Wesley, 2010 Ark. 21; see also Tarry v. State, 346
Ark. 267, 57 S.W.3d 163 (2001) (per curiam). It is not the responsibility of the circuit clerk, or
anyone other than the party desiring to appeal, to perfect the appeal. Day v. Hobbs, 2014 Ark.
189 (per curiam). It was the duty of petitioner to file a timely notice of appeal, and he has not
established good cause for his failure to do so.
Motion denied.
Benjamin Oliver, pro se petitioner.
No response.
2
Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.3(d) places an obligation upon the circuit court
to promptly mail a copy of the order to the petitioner.
2