Opinion
DA 22-0611
11-01-2022
STATE OF MONTANA. Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ANDALL PATRICK ATKINS, Defendant and Appellant.
ORDER
Through counsel with the Appellate Defender Division, Randall Patrick Atkins petitions this Court for an out-of-time appeal, pursuant to M. R. App. P. 4(6).
The Appellate Defender Division provides that the Lincoln County District Court sentenced Atkins on April 13, 2022, after a jury found him guilty and that Atkins tried on his own behalf initially to seek an appeal. The Appellate Defender Division states that his original request to the Lincoln County Office of Public Defender was timely, yet the Division only recently learned of his request and received written notification, as attached to the Petition filed with this Court.
This Court is familiar with Atkins's situation as he filed a verified Petition for Out-of-Time Appeal on his own behalf eight days earlier. See State v. Atkins, No. DA 22-0592. We conclude that Atkins has demonstrated extraordinary circumstances to allow this appeal to proceed. As explained in the other Order, filed contemporaneously, we will dismiss Atkin's pro se filing of the same underlying case. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that Atkins's Petition for an Out-of-Time Appeal is GRANTED. The Appellate Defender Division shall have thirty days from the date of this Order within which to file a Notice of Appeal, and the Appellate Defender Division shall immediately order the appropriate transcripts.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to provide a copy of this Order to: the Appellate Defender Division; counsel of record; and Randall Patrick Atkins at his last-known address.