Summary
The Arkansas Supreme Court denied Daniel Lyons’s pro se motion for a belated appeal from his conviction for second-degree sexual assault. After remanding for an evidentiary hearing, the court accepted the trial court’s findings that Lyons had not communicated a desire to appeal within the applicable thirty-day period and therefore had waived the right to appeal.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether petitioner was entitled to a belated appeal based on his claim that he timely informed his trial counsel of his desire to appeal.
- Whether the trial court's factual findings regarding the timeliness of the petitioner's request to appeal were clearly erroneous.
Holdings
- A defendant may waive his right to appeal by his failure to inform counsel of his desire to appeal within the thirty-day period allowed for filing a notice of appeal.
- The Supreme Court accepts the trial court's findings on credibility and does not reverse unless the conclusions are clearly erroneous.
Factual background
Petitioner Daniel Lyons was convicted of second-degree sexual assault in 2015 and sentenced to 120 months' imprisonment. He claimed he timely requested his appointed attorney to appeal, but the attorney denied this, stating Lyons had communicated he did not wish to appeal. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing and found that Lyons did not express a desire to appeal within the 30-day filing period.
Procedural history
Petitioner was convicted and sentenced in 2015. He filed a pro se motion for belated appeal in 2016, which was remanded to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing on conflicting factual claims. After the trial court found against the petitioner, the Supreme Court denied the motion.