Rittenberry v. State

Phipps, Judge.

In November 1999, Wesley Rittenberry, then represented by counsel, pled guilty to selling cocaine. Nineteen months later, he filed a pro se motion for out-of-time appeal claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, which the trial court summarily denied. On appeal, Rittenberry contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion without conducting an evidentiary hearing and making specific findings of fact and conclusions of law. This contention is without merit, and we affirm.

An out-of-time appeal is appropriate when a direct appeal was not taken due to ineffective…