Gene Jackson v. State of Arkansas ( 2023 )

Cite as 2023 Ark. App. 505ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
No. CR-23-191
Opinion Delivered November 1, 2023
GENE JACKSON APPEAL FROM THE BENTON
APPELLANT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[NO. 04CR-21-2470]
V.
HONORABLE BRAD KARREN,
STATE OF ARKANSAS JUDGE
APPELLEE
MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE
TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD
GRANTED; SHOW-CAUSE ORDER
ISSUED
PER CURIAM
Gene Jackson moves this court to enforce a writ of certiorari previously issued on
April 12, 2023, to Sharon L. Fields, who is the official court reporter for Circuit Judge Brad
Karren. This is the fifth time Jackson has sought this court’s intervention to procure a
transcript of the circuit court proceedings and complete the record for his criminal appeal.
Given Ms. Fields’s failure to comply with the original writ and the subsequent extensions,
we order her to appear before this court on December 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., in the
courtroom of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (Justice Building, 625
Marshall Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201) and show cause why she should not be held
in contempt for failing to comply with this court’s original writ of certiorari and numerous
extensions.
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On September 6, 2022, the Benton County Circuit Court ordered the appellate
record to be prepared at no cost to Jackson. On September 9, Jackson filed a “Notice of
Appeal and Designation of Record” with the circuit court. On November 29, the circuit
court extended the time for filing the record until March 21, 2023. On March 21, Jackson
simultaneously filed a partial record (pleadings) in this court and petitioned for a writ of
certiorari directing Ms. Fields to complete the transcript portion of the record pursuant to
Rule 3-5 of the Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. We granted the
petition on April 12 and ordered Ms. Fields to complete her task by May 12.
On May 11, at Ms. Fields’s request, Jackson filed another motion and asked for an
additional thirty days for the court reporter to complete her work. We granted that motion
and moved the deadline to file the transcript to June 30. On June 26, and again at Ms.
Fields’s request, Jackson moved for another extension. We granted that motion and moved
the deadline to August 18. On August 18, Jackson again moved for more time to complete
the record, and we extended the time to October 6. We also warned that the failure to timely
return the writ could result in a show-cause order. Then, on October 6, Jackson requested
another extension. We grant the extension, and the transcript is now due on December 1,
2023. It is also time for a show-cause order.
Ms. Fields has repeatedly failed to comply with the original writ of certiorari we issued
in mid-April and the many extensions given to her since. The designated transcript in a
criminal appeal has been unavailable to Jackson for over six months in this court alone, and
it has been more than one year since Jackson filed his notice of appeal. That is an
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unacceptable delay and prejudices the administration of justice. Therefore, good cause exists
for this show-cause order. See James Tree & Crane Serv., Inc. v. Fought, 2015 Ark. 6; Cuevas-
Flores v. State, 2023 Ark. App. 347; Ark. Blue Cross & Blue Shield v. Freeway Surgery Ctr., 2023
Ark. App. 25; Woolford v. State, 2022 Ark. App. 463.
SHARON L. FIELDS IS FURTHER NOTIFIED that her failure to appear on
December 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. could result in the issuance of a bench warrant for her
arrest with directions to the appropriate law enforcement authority to arrange for her
delivery to this court so a show-cause hearing may be held.
Motion to extend deadline to file supplemental record granted; show-cause order
issued.
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