Green v. State, 2015 Ark. 198

Petitioner Billy D. Green was convicted of four counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping and filed a timely, verified Rule 37.1 postconviction petition that the trial court denied on April 3, 2014 for exceeding the Rule 37.1(b) page limit.
Green filed a pro se motion for reconsideration (arguing the verification page was miscounted) on May 5, 2014; he received the April 3 order on April 26, 2014.
Green filed a notice of appeal as to the April 3 order on July 1, 2014 (66 days after receiving the order); the trial court later entered an August 11, 2014 order denying relief on the merits, and Green filed another notice of appeal on October 10, 2014.
The clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court declined to file the tendered record because there was no timely notice of appeal from the April 3 order; Green then filed a pro se motion for rule on clerk and requested appointed counsel.
The Supreme Court treated the motion as a petition for belated appeal, examined whether Green showed good cause for missing the appeal deadline, and concluded the April 3 order was final under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.2(d) and that Green failed to establish good cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was Green’s belated appeal excusable for lack of timely notice of appeal from the April 3 order?	Clerk failed to timely mail the April 3 order; Green did not receive it until Apr 26, 2014, so delay should excuse late notice.	Even if clerk delayed mailing, Green filed notice 66 days after receipt and failed to show good cause for missing the 30‑day deadline.	Denied — no good cause shown; belated appeal not allowed.
Did Green’s May 5 motion for reconsideration extend the 30‑day appeal period?	Green contends filing the motion extended the appeal period.	The motion only challenged the court’s page-limit finding and did not request ruling on omitted issues required to extend time.	Denied — motion did not invoke the narrow exception and did not extend the appeal period.
Was the August 11, 2014 order a valid vehicle to cure the lack of appeal from the April 3 order?	Implicit: later merits order could be appealed instead.	April 3 order was final under Rule 37.2(d); subsequent order did not revive appealability.	Held: April 3 order final; August 11 order not a valid substitute to cure untimely appeal.
Should counsel be appointed for the belated appeal proceedings?	Green requested appointment of counsel.	Because belated appeal was denied, there is no live appeal and appointment is unnecessary.	Moot — motion for appointment of counsel denied as moot.

McCullough v. State, 2010 Ark. 394 (treating rule-on-clerk motion as petition for belated appeal when notice untimely)
Bean v. State, 2014 Ark. 440 (petitioner has right to appeal Rule 37.1 ruling; belated appeal requires showing of good cause)
Lee v. State, 2015 Ark. 26 (circuit court must promptly mail Rule 37.1 disposition order)
Nelson v. State, 2013 Ark. 316 (failure of clerk to mail order can establish good cause when record lacks proof of mailing)
Lovett v. State, 2013 Ark. 8 (narrow exception allows motion seeking ruling on omitted issues to extend appeal time)
Lewis v. State, 2012 Ark. 255 (clarifies narrow scope of motion that will extend appeal time under Rule 37)
Wade v. State, 2014 Ark. 492 (belief that time was extended is insufficient to establish good cause)