Bruce Earl Ward, Petitioner v. State of Arkansas, Respondent

Summary

The court denied Ward’s motion to recall the mandate from his postconviction appeal. It held that his unverified petition did not create an appellate-process defect because the court reviewed his claims and thereby provided the process he would have received had the verification problem been identified; it also rejected his competency and ineffective-assistance arguments as grounds for mandate recall. The court overruled its prior decision treating lack of verification alone as a breakdown in the appellate process. Justice Danielson and Justice Baker dissented, contending that the unverified petition deprived the courts of jurisdiction and required recall of the mandate.