With the approval of the court and the consent of the prosecuting attorney, a defendant may enter a conditional plea of guilty or nolo contendere, reserving in writing the right, on appeal from the judgment, to review of an adverse determination of a pretrial motion to suppress seized evidence or a custodial statement. If the defendant prevails on appeal, the defendant shall be allowed to withdraw the conditional plea. The supreme court requires strict compliance with Rule 24.3(b) to convey appellate jurisdiction, and if the parties do not comply with the express terms of the rule, the appellate court acquires no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a conditional plea. McMullen v. State, 79 Ark. App. 15, 82 S.W.3d 827 (2002). The supreme court has interpreted the language of Rule 24.3(b) to permit review of conditional guilty pleas solely with respect to adverse rulings on motions to suppress illegally obtained evidence.
The supreme court has interpreted Ark. R. Crim. P. 24.3(b) to require strict compliance with the writing requirement in order for the appellate court to obtain jurisdiction. McMullen v. State, 79 Ark. App. 15, 82 S.W.3d 827 (2002). Absent strict compliance, the appellate court acquires no jurisdiction to hear an appeal, even when there has been an attempt at trial to enter a conditional plea.
See Barnett v. State, 336 Ark. 165, 984 S.W.2d 444 (1999). The supreme court has interpreted Ark. R. Crim. P. 24.3(b) to require strict compliance with the writing requirement in order for the appellate court to obtain jurisdiction; this includes a requirement that the conditional plea be reserved in writing by the defendants. McMullen v. State, 79 Ark. App. 15, 84 S.W.3d 44 (2002). Absent compliance with the express terms of Rule 24.3(b), the appellate court acquires no jurisdiction to hear an appeal, even when there has been an attempt at trial to enter a conditional plea.
Id. Finally, in McMullen v. State, 79 Ark. App. 15, 82 S.W.3d 827 (2002), we held that a plea questionnaire and written judgment and commitment order did not satisfy the writing requirement for a conditional plea of guilty. Specifically, the questionnaire did not reflect that the guilty plea was conditional and instead contained the question: "Do you understand the effect of a plea of guilty to the charges against you, in that there is no appeal and you can't withdraw your plea later on?" Defendant answered this question with "yes.