APPEAL
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, CHICKASAWBA
DISTRICT [NO. 47BCR-19-73], HONORABLE RALPH WILSON, JR.,
JUDGE
Law
Office of Harris & Morrison, by: James W. Harris,
Blytheville, for appellant.
Leslie
Rutledge, Atty Gen., by: Adam Jackson, Asst Atty Gen., for
appellee.
OPINION
ROBERT
J. GLADWIN, Judge
Page 100
Cameron Wells appeals the Mississippi County Circuit Courts
order of March 28, 2019, which found, among other things,
that Wellss notice of appeal filed in the circuit court on
March 6, 2019, was from his battery-third conviction in the
district court on December 12, 2018, and was untimely. Wells
argues that the circuit court erred by (1) dismissing his
appeal and remanding the matter to the district court; (2)
finding that it did not have superintending authority over
the district court; and (3) finding it was without
jurisdiction to establish a bond for the appeal from the
district court. We dismiss the appeal for want of
jurisdiction under Rule 36 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal
Procedure (2018).
On
December 12, 2018, Wells was found guilty of third-degree
battery in the Blytheville District Court. He was sentenced
to eleven months in jail, suspended; fifteen days of
electronic monitoring; restitution; and a mutual no-contact
order. Wells was told in open court that he had thirty days
to appeal from the sentencing order or judgment entered
December 12 and that he should return to the district court
if he did not appeal so that he could be fitted with an
electronic-monitoring device.[1] No appeal was filed
within thirty days. Wells did not reappear in the district
court within thirty days, and a failure-to-appear (FTA)
warrant was issued on January 17, 2019, in the Blytheville
District Court.
When
Wells appeared in the district court on a new felony charge
on March 4, 2019, he was held on the FTA charge in the
battery case. He appeared the next day, March 5, in the
district court and pled guilty to FTA. He was sentenced to
$290 in fines and $100 in costs.
On
March 6, 2019, in the circuit court, Wells filed a notice of
appeal and attached a copy of the district court docket sheet
in his third-degree-battery case. The notice of appeal sets
forth the history of the case, including the FTA
"citation" from March 5, and it alleges that Wells
was not given notice of the FTA warrant. The notice of appeal
states, "Defendant hereby gives notice to the State of
Arkansas that he appeals from District Court to Circuit
Court, in accordance with Rule 36 of the Arkansas Rules of
Criminal Procedure." It also states that Wellss
"due process rights have been violated under both the
U.S. Constitution and the Arkansas Constitution."
On
March 6, 2019, the circuit court filed a bond order under a
"not-yet-filed" or "NYF" charge in the
district court and also under the FTA that followed the
battery conviction. The bond order released Wells upon
posting of a cash surety bond in the amount of $50,000. The
bond was to stand for both cases— (1) the unfiled,
pending felony matter; and (2) the misdemeanor appeal.
On
March 7, 2019, a supplement to the bond order was filed,
which states:
1. The court advised counsel that its previous order (the
Bond Order) was issued based on the following findings and
observations:
a) The defendants Notice of Appeal filed March 6, 2019, and
attached exhibit A (District Court docket sheet), on its face
demonstrates issues which this court finds to be appealable
issues— arising out of the ...