Rea v. Kelley
Rea v. Kelley
Opinion of the Court
Appellant Michael E. Rea appeals from the denial of his petition to proceed in the circuit court as a pauper with a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Pending before this court are Rea's motion for an extension to file his brief-in-chief and motion to file a belated brief. A review of the record and the order that denied Rea's in forma pauperis petition indicates that the circuit court failed to provide sufficient findings for this court to review. Accordingly, we defer consideration of the motions and remand for further findings of fact.
Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 72 (2017) governs our review of a decision to grant or deny a petition to proceed in forma pauperis in a civil case. Gardner v. Kelley ,
In Gardner , the circuit court found only that petitioner had failed to allege facts that would support a colorable cause of action because he did not raise a claim in the submitted petition that was cognizable in habeas proceedings. Gardner ,
We pointed out in Gardner that the circuit court is required under Rule 72 to enter specific findings on a petitioner's indigency before addressing issues as to whether the petitioner had stated a colorable claim.
Accordingly, we remand to the circuit court for a supplemental order on the in forma pauperis petition that contains adequate findings of fact and complies with Rule 72. The order must include findings on Rea's indigency and address the basis for its conclusion that the habeas petition failed to set forth a cognizable claim. The order is to be entered, and the supplemental record containing the order is to be returned within thirty days from the date of this opinion. Once the supplemental record is received, we will address Rea's motions.
Remanded for additional findings of fact.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Michael E. REA v. Wendy KELLEY, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published