Muldrow v. State , 439 S.W.3d 46 ( 2014 )

Cite as 2014 Ark. 333
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR-14-274
Opinion Delivered July 31, 2014
MICHAEL MULDROW APPELLANT’S PRO SE MOTIONS
APPELLANT FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE
BRIEF AND FOR APPOINTMENT
V. OF COUNSEL
[HEMPSTEAD COUNTY CIRCUIT
STATE OF ARKANSAS COURT, NO. 29CR-12-257]
APPELLEE
HONORABLE RANDY WRIGHT,
JUDGE
APPEAL DISMISSED; MOTIONS
MOOT.
PER CURIAM
On August 5, 2013, judgment was entered in the Hempstead County Circuit Court
reflecting that appellant Michael Muldrow had entered a negotiated plea of guilty to first-
degree murder. A sentence of 240 months’ imprisonment was imposed, with an additional
120 months’ suspended imposition of sentence.
On November 15, 2013, appellant filed in the trial court a pro se petition for
postconviction relief pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.1 (2013). The
petition was dismissed on the ground that it was not timely filed, and appellant lodged an
appeal in this court from the order. Now before us are appellant’s motions for extension of
time to file his brief-in-chief and for appointment of counsel. We dismiss the appeal, as it is
evident from the record that appellant could not succeed on appeal. This court will not
Cite as 2014 Ark. 333
permit an appeal from an order that denied a petition for postconviction relief to go forward
where it is clear that the appellant could not prevail. Smith v. State, 2013 Ark. 422 (per
curiam); Murphy v. State, 2013 Ark. 243 (per curiam). The motions are rendered moot by
the dismissal of the appeal.
Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.2(c) requires that, when an appellant entered
a plea of guilty, a petition under the Rule must be filed in the trial court within ninety days
of the date of entry of judgment. Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.2(c)(i). Appellant filed his petition 102
days after the judgment had been entered. The time limitations imposed in Rule 37.2(c) are
jurisdictional in nature, and, if they are not met, a trial court lacks jurisdiction to grant
postconviction relief. Ussery v. State, 2014 Ark. 186 (per curiam); Talley v. State, 2012 Ark.
314 (per curiam); Benton v. State, 325 Ark. 246, 925 S.W.2d 401 (1996) (per curiam). The
petition before the trial court was not timely filed as to the judgment-and-commitment order;
thus, the trial court court lacked jurisdiction to grant the relief sought. When the lower court
lacks jurisdiction, the appellate court also lacks jurisdiction. Green v. State, 2014 Ark. 115 (per
curiam).
Appeal dismissed; motions moot.
Michael Muldrow, pro se appellant.
No response.
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