Fulton v. State‎(2)‎

2017 Ark. 105

• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas
• Decided: March 16, 2017
• Docket: CR-17-35
• Status: Published

Opinion

Cite as 2017 Ark. 105

SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS. No. CR-17-35

DEONTAE FULTON Opinion Delivered March 16, 2017 PETITIONER PRO SE MOTION FOR RULE ON CLERK V. TO PROCEED WITH MOTION FOR BELATED APPEAL WITHOUT A STATE OF ARKANSAS CERTIFIED RECORD RESPONDENT [PULASKI COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT NO. 60CR-13-2648]

MOTION DENIED.

PER CURIAM

In 2015, petitioner Deontae Fulton was found guilty by a jury in the Pulaski County

Circuit Court of first-degree murder and sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. The

Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed. Fulton v. State, 2016 Ark. App. 28.

Now before us is Fulton’s pro se motion for rule on clerk in which he seeks leave to

proceed in this court with a motion for belated appeal of an unspecified order without a

certified record of the lower court proceedings. He contends in the motion that he cannot

provide the certified record needed to appeal because he is indigent.

The motion is denied. Without a certified record, we have no foundation for

assuming jurisdiction in a matter. See Cook v. State, 2016 Ark. 143 (per curiam); see also

Young v. State, 2009 Ark. 608 (per curiam). We have consistently held that, without a

certified record to establish jurisdiction, a motion for belated appeal cannot be filed and

acted on by this court. Bannister v. State, 2013 Ark. 412, at 2 (per curiam), see also Croston

v. State, 2012 Ark. 183 (per curiam) (Petitioner’s motion for belated appeal could not be Cite as 2017 Ark. 105

filed as petitioner had failed to provide the certified record necessary to file such a motion.);

see also Williams v. Helena Reg’l Med. Ctr., 2012 Ark. 126 (per curiam); Threadford v. Hobbs,

2011 Ark. 468 (per curiam).