Chavel Jemison v. State of Arkansas

2022 Ark. App. 525

Opinion

Cite as 2022 Ark. App. 525 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS No. CR-22-582

Opinion Delivered December 14, 2022 CHAVEL JEMISON APPELLANT APPELLEE’S MOTION TO REMAND V. OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE, MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF STATE OF ARKANSAS TIME APPELLEE

MOTION GRANTED; REVERSED AND REMANDED

Chavel Jemison was convicted by a jury of commercial burglary and aggravated

robbery and was sentenced to 660 months in prison. We affirmed his convictions on direct

appeal in Jemison v. State, 2019 Ark. App. 475, 588 S.W.3d 359. Thereafter, Jemison filed a

Rule 37 petition as well as amended petitions. The circuit court denied his request for relief

following an evidentiary hearing. This appeal followed. The State has filed a motion asking

us to reverse and remand to the circuit court for findings mandated by Rule 37 of the

Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure.

When a hearing is granted on a petition for postconviction relief, the supreme court

has held that Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 37.3(c) is mandatory and requires the

trial court to provide written findings of fact and conclusions of law on every point upon

which the hearing is held. See Scott v. State, 351 Ark. 619, 96 S.W.3d 732 (2003) (per curiam). When the circuit court fails to enter any written findings following a hearing, the supreme

court has consistently remanded the case to the circuit court for fact-finding on all the issues

raised in the petition. Campbell v. State, 2019 Ark. App. 409, at 2.

Due to the circuit court’s failure to make sufficient written findings, we cannot

effectively review the evidence and the court’s reasoning to determine whether the court’s

conclusions were clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. See Scott, supra. We

therefore grant the State’s motion to reverse and remand the case to the circuit court for

written findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Rule 37.3(c). See Campbell,

supra.

Motion granted; reversed and remanded.