Clay v. State, 2015 Ark. 352

John Clay pled guilty in four consolidated cases to multiple felonies (firearm possession by a felon, aggravated robbery, theft, and one direct plea to residential burglary) and was sentenced to an aggregate 720 months' imprisonment.
Clay filed a single Rule 37.1 postconviction petition challenging convictions in all four cases; the trial court denied relief on January 14, 2015.
Arkansas Criminal Appellate Rule 2(a) required a notice of appeal within 30 days of the denial; Clay’s notice was due by February 13, 2015.
The notice of appeal was filed on February 18, 2015 and thus was untimely when received by the clerk.
Clay moved for a belated appeal, arguing he placed the notice in the prison mailbox on February 11 (or that the envelope shows February 12 posting) and asked the court to apply the prison-mailbox rule.
The court denied the motion, concluding Clay failed to show good cause for the late filing and that, at the time, the prison-mailbox rule was not recognized for filing with the clerk (items are filed when received).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a belated appeal should be allowed for Clay's untimely notice of appeal	Clay: prison-mailbox rule applies; he mailed notice before deadline so delay not his fault	State: notice was received late; appellant is responsible to perfect appeal; no good cause shown	Denied — Clay failed to show good cause for late filing; prison-mailbox rule did not apply at that time
When a filing is "filed" with the court for appeal-timing purposes	Clay: mailing date (prison-postmark) should control	State: filing date is date clerk receives the item	Held for State — filing date is receipt by clerk (at that time)
Whether ignorance or misunderstanding of rules excuses late filing	Clay: blamed postal/court processes beyond his control	State: appellant must comply with procedural rules; ignorance not excused	Held for State — ignorance/misunderstanding insufficient to show good cause
Whether any meritorious grounds existed to excuse the delay	Clay: procedural impediment prevented timely filing	State: no meritorious grounds shown	Denied — no meritorious ground; motion not justified

Garner v. State, 293 Ark. 309, 737 S.W.2d 637 (Ark. 1987) (belated appeal allowed only upon showing of good cause)
Scott v. State, 281 Ark. 436, 664 S.W.2d 475 (Ark. 1984) (right to appeal from postconviction ruling accompanies duty to file timely notice)
Hamel v. State, 338 Ark. 769, 1 S.W.3d 434 (Ark. 1999) (item is considered filed on date clerk receives it; prison-mailbox rule not adopted at that time)