United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Pine Bluff Division
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. ...