Thomas C. Ortega v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court dismissed Ortega’s appeal from the denial of his postconviction petition because his claims either were not cognizable in a postconviction proceeding or failed to establish ineffective assistance under the applicable two-part test. The court held that the trial court did not clearly err in denying relief, and Ortega’s motion for additional time to file his brief was therefore moot. Justice Wood concurred to defend the court’s handling of postconviction cases, while Justice Hart, dissenting, would have granted Ortega’s timely motion for additional briefing time and declined to decide the merits before a brief was filed.