Arnold v. Kelley

          PROPOSED FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS INSTRUCTIONS

          JOE J. VOLPE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

         The following recommended disposition has been sent to Chief United States District Judge Brian S. Miller. Any party may serve and file written objections to this recommendation. Objections should be specific and should include the factual or legal basis for the objection. If the objection is to a factual finding, specifically identify that finding and the evidence that supports your objection. An original and one copy of your objections must be received in the office of the United States District Court Clerk no later than fourteen (14) days from the date of the findings and recommendations. The copy will be furnished to the opposing party. Failure to file timely objections may result in waiver of the right to appeal questions of fact.

         If you are objecting to the recommendation and also desire to submit new, different, or additional evidence, and to have a hearing for this purpose before the Chief District Judge, you must, at the same time that you file your written objections, include the following:

1. Why the record made before the Magistrate Judge is inadequate.

2. Why the evidence proffered at the hearing (if such a hearing is granted) was not offered at the hearing before the Magistrate Judge.

3. The details of any testimony desired to be introduced at the new hearing in the form of an offer of proof, and a copy, or the original, of any documentary or other non-testimonial evidence desired to be introduced at the new hearing.

         From this submission, the Chief District Judge will determine the necessity for an additional evidentiary hearing. Mail your objections and “Statement of Necessity” to:

Clerk, United States District Court Eastern District of Arkansas 600 West Capitol Avenue, Suite A149 Little Rock, AR 72201-3325

         I. INTRODUCTION

         On November 30, 2011, a jury in the Pulaski County Circuit Court convicted Petitioner, Reginald Arnold, of capital murder and aggravated robbery. (Doc. No. 2 at 1.) According to the Arkansas Department of Correction (“ADC”) website, ^[1] Mr. Arnold was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the capital murder conviction and forty years for the aggravated robbery.

         Mr. Arnold appealed his convictions to the Arkansas Supreme Court asserting the circuit court erred in refusing to hear testimony from a juror in support of his motion for a new trial. The Court affirmed on October 25, 2012. Arnold v. State, 2012 Ark. 400, 1 (2012). In affirming the conviction, the court briefly recited the facts of the case as follows:

Suffice it to say, on July 10, 2010, police found Jose Martinez-Lopez lying face down near the Geyer Springs and Baseline area of Little Rock. He suffered from a gunshot wound to the middle of his forehead. The police eventually received information relating to Martinez-Lopez's killing and developed two suspects, one of whom was Arnold. Arnold was subsequently arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted, as already set forth.

Id. at 3.

         According to his Petition, Mr. Arnold filed for Rule 37 relief in the Pulaski County Circuit Court in January 2013. (Doc. No. 2 at 3.) The court denied relief on February 6, 2013. (Id. ...