Williams v. State, 2014 Ark. 70

Corey J. Williams was convicted of aggravated robbery and misdemeanor theft with a firearm enhancement and sentenced to a total of 540 months' imprisonment; the Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed on direct appeal.
Williams filed a timely, verified pro se Rule 37.1 petition for postconviction relief alleging prosecutorial vindictiveness, a coerced recorded statement, denial of a fair trial, and ineffective assistance of counsel; he also sought a free trial transcript.
The trial court denied the Rule 37.1 petition without an evidentiary hearing and refused to provide the trial transcript at public expense; Williams appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court and filed motions for extension of time and for a transcript.
The Supreme Court concluded it need not reach the motions because the appeal could not succeed on the merits and therefore dismissed the appeal as futile and rendered the motions moot.
The Court reviewed each claim, finding (1) the prosecutorial-vindictiveness issue was already addressed on direct appeal and is not cognizable in Rule 37.1, (2) the recorded statement claim was trial error not rising to fundamental-error level, (3) ineffective-assistance claims were conclusory and unsupported by the record, and (4) Williams failed to show a compelling need for a free transcript.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Prosecutorial vindictiveness (firearm enhancement)	Williams: State vindictively amended information to add firearm enhancement after mistrial.	State: Issue already decided on direct appeal; presumption rebutted.	Denied — issue was decided on direct appeal and not cognizable in Rule 37.1.
Coerced recorded statement	Williams: Recorded statement was coerced and should have been excluded.	State: No objection at trial; claim is trial error not preserved and not fundamental.	Denied — trial-error claim not raised timely and did not demonstrate fundamental error.
Ineffective assistance — failure to object / no objections	Williams: Counsel made no objections and thus was ineffective.	State: Claim is conclusory, unsupported by record; counsel in fact acted (e.g., challenged victim testimony).	Denied — conclusory, unsubstantiated allegations insufficient to overcome presumption of effective assistance.
Trial transcript at public expense	Williams: Needs transcript to prove ineffective assistance.	State: Indigency alone is insufficient; must show compelling need for transcript.	Denied — no compelling need shown; transcript not required at public expense.

Sandoval-Vega v. State, 384 S.W.3d 508 (Ark. 2011) (when no hearing is held on a Rule 37.1 petition, trial court must provide written findings showing petitioner is entitled to no relief)
Springs v. State, 387 S.W.3d 143 (Ark. 2012) (exception for collateral attack where errors are so fundamental they render the judgment void)