The Arkansas Supreme Court issued its weekly opinions today and reversed all or part of lower court rulings in seven of nine opinions.
No huge cases in the bunch but they included:
* DEATH ROW: The court said Judge Barry Sims should have held a hearing and not summarily dismissed a petition for post-conviction relief by Andrew Engram, sentenced to die for the 1999 rape and slaying of a Sears security guard in North Little Rock. He wanted to raise issues about ineffective counsel and his mental retardation. The court said he should get a hearing on his argument that he had a good reason for filing a belated appeal.
* EVIDENCE REINSTATED: The court, with two justices dissenting, reversed Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen’s suppression of evidence — including a baseball cap, rifle and ammunition — gathered in a search of the home of Kendrick Robinson, a suspect in a gas station obbery. Robinson argued that Sherwood police weren’t authorized to make the search because his home was in North Little Rock. The court said it was not unreasonable for a Sherwood office to execute a search authorized by a district court with countywide jurisdiction and interagency approval was not required.