Eugene Issac Pitts, Petitioner v. State of Arkansas, Respondent

Summary

The court granted Pitts's petition to reinvest the circuit court with jurisdiction to consider a writ of error coram nobis or other appropriate postconviction relief based on the Department of Justice's repudiation of material aspects of FBI analyst Michael Malone's hair-comparison testimony. The court relied on the newly discovered evidence and the extraordinary function of coram nobis in addressing facts unknown at trial that could have prevented the judgment. Justice Danielson and Justice Goodson, concurring in part and dissenting in part, objected to expanding coram nobis jurisdiction without a fully developed record; Justice Goodson also questioned the petition's timeliness and diligence.