Gene Jackson v. State of Arkansas

2023 Ark. App. 505

• Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas
• Decided: November 1, 2023
• Status: Published

Opinion

Cite as 2023 Ark. App. 505 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS No. CR-23-191

Opinion Delivered November 1, 2023

GENE JACKSON APPEAL FROM THE BENTON APPELLANT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 04CR-21-2470] V. HONORABLE BRAD KARREN, STATE OF ARKANSAS JUDGE APPELLEE MOTION TO EXTEND DEADLINE TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD GRANTED; SHOW-CAUSE ORDER ISSUED

PER CURIAM

Gene Jackson moves this court to enforce a writ of certiorari previously issued on

April 12, 2023, to Sharon L. Fields, who is the official court reporter for Circuit Judge Brad

Karren. This is the fifth time Jackson has sought this court’s intervention to procure a

transcript of the circuit court proceedings and complete the record for his criminal appeal.

Given Ms. Fields’s failure to comply with the original writ and the subsequent extensions,

we order her to appear before this court on December 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., in the

courtroom of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (Justice Building, 625

Marshall Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201) and show cause why she should not be held

in contempt for failing to comply with this court’s original writ of certiorari and numerous

extensions. 1 On September 6, 2022, the Benton County Circuit Court ordered the appellate

record to be prepared at no cost to Jackson. On September 9, Jackson filed a “Notice of

Appeal and Designation of Record” with the circuit court. On November 29, the circuit

court extended the time for filing the record until March 21, 2023. On March 21, Jackson

simultaneously filed a partial record (pleadings) in this court and petitioned for a writ of

certiorari directing Ms. Fields to complete the transcript portion of the record pursuant to

Rule 3-5 of the Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. We granted the

petition on April 12 and ordered Ms. Fields to complete her task by May 12.

On May 11, at Ms. Fields’s request, Jackson filed another motion and asked for an

additional thirty days for the court reporter to complete her work. We granted that motion

and moved the deadline to file the transcript to June 30. On June 26, and again at Ms.

Fields’s request, Jackson moved for another extension. We granted that motion and moved

the deadline to August 18. On August 18, Jackson again moved for more time to complete

the record, and we extended the time to October 6. We also warned that the failure to timely

return the writ could result in a show-cause order. Then, on October 6, Jackson requested

another extension. We grant the extension, and the transcript is now due on December 1,

2023. It is also time for a show-cause order.

Ms. Fields has repeatedly failed to comply with the original writ of certiorari we issued

in mid-April and the many extensions given to her since. The designated transcript in a

criminal appeal has been unavailable to Jackson for over six months in this court alone, and

it has been more than one year since Jackson filed his notice of appeal. That is an

2 unacceptable delay and prejudices the administration of justice. Therefore, good cause exists

for this show-cause order. See James Tree & Crane Serv., Inc. v. Fought, 2015 Ark. 6; Cuevas-

Flores v. State, 2023 Ark. App. 347; Ark. Blue Cross & Blue Shield v. Freeway Surgery Ctr., 2023

Ark. App. 25; Woolford v. State, 2022 Ark. App. 463.

SHARON L. FIELDS IS FURTHER NOTIFIED that her failure to appear on

December 5, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. could result in the issuance of a bench warrant for her

arrest with directions to the appropriate law enforcement authority to arrange for her

delivery to this court so a show-cause hearing may be held.

Motion to extend deadline to file supplemental record granted; show-cause order

issued.