Brown v. Gibson

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court denied Louis Dudley Brown’s petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the circuit judge to issue a written order addressing Brown’s pro se jurisdictional pleadings in a criminal case. The court held that Brown had not provided a sufficient record to show that the trial court failed to dispose of the pleadings or that Brown was entitled to a written order addressing their merits. The court explained that a represented defendant’s pro se motions may be struck or otherwise disposed of, but the form and substance of the disposition generally remain within the trial court’s discretion.

Holdings

1. Brown was not entitled to mandamus compelling a written order on the merits because he failed to establish that he was proceeding pro se before the trial court and failed to show that a written merits order was required.
2. A trial court has a ministerial duty to timely act on pleadings filed in the court, even if the pleadings are meritless or frivolous, and the disposition must be made a matter of record.
3. The petition for writ of mandamus was denied because Brown failed to establish a clear and certain right to relief, a failure by the trial court to perform a ministerial duty, or a record sufficient to demonstrate that mandamus was warranted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Brown was entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling the circuit court to enter a written order addressing the merits of his pro se jurisdictional pleadings.
2. Whether the circuit court had at least a ministerial duty to dispose of Brown's pro se pleadings on the record.
3. Whether Brown established that the trial court failed to act on the pleadings or that he had a clear and certain right to the requested relief.

Disposition

writ_denied