Thompson v. State, 2014 Ark. 413

Thompson appeals a Saline County Circuit Court judgment convicting him of failure to appear (Class C felony) and sentencing him to seven years.
Arrested Aug 21, 2012 for theft; appeared on an appearance agreement Aug 22, 2012 to appear Sept 4, 2012 and pay $2,500 bond.
He failed to appear Sept 4, 2012; district court issued arrest warrants for theft and failure to appear.
State filed felony information Sept 26, 2012 alleging theft (Class D) and failure to appear (Class C) and habitual offender.
Appellant was arrested again, released on Pre-Trial Release Order Nov 21, 2012, requiring a $15,000 bond and appearance Dec 11, 2012.
After appearing on Dec 11, 2012, district court set Dec 17, 2012 circuit court appearance; jury trial proceeded June 5, 2013 with theft charge nol-prossed; conviction for failure to appear entered and Thompson sentenced as habitual offender.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failure to appear requires a pending charge.	Thompson: no pending charge at time of failure to appear.	State: pending charge or disposition exists; supports Class C classification.	Conviction reversed; pending-charge requirement not met; dismissal of conviction.

Laswell v. State, 2012 Ark. 201 (Ark. 2012) (sufficiency review for directed verdict; substantial evidence standard)
Sullivan v. State, 386 S.W.3d 507 (Ark. 2012) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence; light most favorable to State)
Newman v. State, 380 S.W.3d 395 (Ark. 2011) (statutory interpretation; plain language rules)
Holbrook v. Healthport, Inc., 432 S.W.3d 593 (Ark. 2014) (avoid void/insignificant words; give effect to every word)
Ainsworth v. State, 240 S.W.3d 105 (Ark. 2006) (statutory interpretation principles; plain meaning rule)
Wilson v. State, 611 S.W.2d 739 (Ark. 1981) (classification of crimes relates to sentence, not element of crime)
Huff v. State, 423 S.W.3d 608 (Ark. 2012) (classification of offense requires preponderance of evidence)