Beene v. State

Petitioner Cecil D. Beene was convicted of sexual assault in the second degree as reflected in a judgment-and-commitment order entered on August 9, 2016. On February 6, 2018, Beene filed in this court a pro se motion for belated appeal and rule on clerk seeking to proceed with a belated appeal of the judgment pursuant to Arkansas Rule of Appellate Procedure-Criminal 2(e) (2017). In his motion, Beene contended that his trial counsel, Hugh Laws, failed to pursue an appeal on his behalf in that he requested an appeal from Laws on the "day [of his] conviction and through [Beene's] mother"; that…