Stewart v. State

Karen R. Baker, Judge.

Following a bench trial in Pulaski County Circuit Court, appellant, Natasha Nicole Stewart, was convicted of failure to appear and was sentenced to three years’ probation and a $300 fine. On appeal, she argues that the trial judge erred in denying her motion to dismiss the charge of failure to appear because the State failed to prove that she had actual notice of a summons directing her to appear on March 31, 2003, for plea and arraignment. We reverse and dismiss.

Ms. Studdard, the case coordinator for the Seventh Division, testified that she originally scheduled…