Stewart v. State

On November 5, 2004, Appellant Gary Lee Stewart filed a motion for belated appeal from judgments entered on September 7, 2004, in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. In his motion, Appellant contended that he had informed his trial counsel, Deputy Public Defender Lance Sullenberger, of his desire to appeal. We initially remanded the matter to the trial court to determine if Appellant had in fact informed his attorney of his desire to appeal. See Stewart v. State, 359 Ark. 528, 199 S.W.3d 78 (2004) (per curiam).

Pursuant to our order, the trial court held a hearing on December 15, 2004, during…