McDonaldv. State, 356 Ark. 106, 146 S.W.3d 883 (2004) ("If there is good reason the appeal was not perfected, the case for good reason can be made in the motion [for a belated appeal], and this court will decide whether good reason is present."); see also Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 171, 1 (2016) (granting motion for rule on clerk where circuit clerk had refused to file-mark a number of pleadings and had not properly file-marked the court order from which the petitioner was appealing). If May had filed either of those Motions with the Arkansas Supreme Court, and explained the Clerk's spurious ground for refusing to file his timely and proper Notice of Appeal, the Court almost certainly would have found this to constitute an adequate ground for overturning the Circuit Clerk's decision and allowing May to proceed with his Rule 37 appeal.
Regarding Mr. Davis's motion for rule on clerk, he alleges irregularities in the handling of his notice of appeal by the Lee County Circuit Clerk. Given the recent history of how inmate filings were handled by circuit clerks in this state, see, e.g. , Halfacre v. Kelley , 2016 Ark. 171, in my view, it is incumbent on this court to treat such accusations with a little more circumspection. Under the Arkansas Constitution, all persons, including prison inmates, have a constitutional right to an appeal.
Ark. Sup. Ct. Admin. Order No. 2(a), (b). In addition, the circuit court referred to our decision in Halfacre v. Kelley , 2016 Ark. 171, 2016 WL 1554614 (per curiam), wherein we emphasized a clerk's duty to file-mark orders in accordance with Administrative Order No. 2(b).As the State argues, however, this authority is not relevant to the question whether a misdemeanor prosecution has been commenced under Arkansas Code Annotated section 5–1–109(f). The plain and unambiguous language in this subsection states that a prosecution commences when an arrest warrant is issued based on a criminal information or other charging instrument.
On April 14, 2016, this court ordered Ms. Glover to appear and show cause why she should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with our February 18, 2016 order directing her to provide a record that was file-marked in accordance with Administrative Order No. 2(b)(2) (2015). Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 171 (per curiam). Ms. Glover appeared as ordered on May 5, 2016, and entered a plea of not guilty. On June 2, 2016, we appointed the Honorable John Mauzy Pittman as special master to conduct a hearing, make findings of fact, and file his findings with this court's clerk.
Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 71. These pleadings included Kenny Halfacre's petition to proceed in forma pauperis, the affidavit submitted by Halfacre in support of his petition, the order denying the petition, and the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On April 14, 2016, this court ordered Ms. Cindy Glover, Circuit Clerk of Lincoln County, to appear before this court and show cause why she should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with this court's order of February 18, 2016. Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 171. On May 5, 2016, Ms. Glover appeared before this court and entered a plea of not guilty. At that time, the court advised Ms. Glover that this court would appoint a special master to make findings of fact concerning this matter. We hereby appoint the Honorable John Mauzy Pittman as special master to conduct a hearing, to make findings of fact, and to file his findings with this court's clerk.