Thomas v. State

I do not believe the evidence was sufficient to show that appellant was represented by counsel at the time of his prior convictions.

I would remand this case to the trial court with directions to eliminate the enhanced sentence given for those prior convictions unless the state should prove within thirty (30) days that appellant was represented by counsel at the time they occurred.

I must respectfully dissent. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in Ellingburg v. Lockhart, 397 F. Supp. 771 (E.D. Ark. 1975), made clear that a defendant had the right to notice…