Sherman D. Noble, Petitioner v. State of Arkansas, Respondent

Summary

The court denied Noble’s petition to reinvest jurisdiction in the circuit court because his direct-appeal record remained filed in the supreme court, depriving the circuit court of jurisdiction to entertain his coram-nobis petition without leave. The court further held that Noble’s allegations were ineffective-assistance claims, not a cognizable coerced-guilty-plea claim, and that he presented no substantiated evidence of coercion, fear, duress, or threats of mob violence. Justice Baker, joined by Justices Goodson and Hart, dissented, concluding that the court never acquired jurisdiction over Noble’s direct appeal and therefore could not require a petition to reinvest jurisdiction.