Andrew R. Engram, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the circuit court erred by summarily dismissing Engram's untimely capital postconviction petition without conducting a hearing on whether counsel's conduct established good cause for the late filing. The court rejected the State's jurisdictional and successive-petition arguments because the filing deadline was not an absolute bar in these circumstances and the record raised unresolved questions about counsel's alleged failure and Engram's resulting waiver. The dismissal was reversed and the matter remanded for a hearing and specific written findings.