Williams v. State

Summary

This concurring opinion addresses a motion to recall the mandate in a death-penalty case. Justice Josephine Linker Hart concludes that the appellate process failed to comply with Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-3(i) because the mitigating-circumstances verdict form was absent from the record and later was shown to be unsigned by the jury foreman. She concurs in the result because the court determined that the error was harmless.

Holdings

1. Justice Hart concluded that the omission and unsigned verdict form prevented a reliable determination that the jury had properly reviewed and weighed mitigating evidence and therefore believed the proceedings demonstrated a breakdown in the appellate process warranting recall of the mandate.
2. The concurrence states that the court applied harmless-error principles to the defects, and Justice Hart concurred in the disposition because the court had decided that harmless error applied, at least in that case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Arkansas Supreme Court should recall its mandate because the required review of a capital sentencing proceeding was impossible or materially undermined by the omission and defects in the mitigating-circumstances verdict form.
2. Whether harmless-error principles could be applied to the defects in the capital sentencing verdict forms.

Disposition

other