ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

January 29, 2004

STANLEY T. NORTON

Appellant

v.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

Appellee

CR 03-1200

PRO SE MOTION FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL [CIRCUIT COURT OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NO. CR 96-302-3-5, HON. FRED DAVIS III, JUDGE]

APPEAL DISMISSED; MOTION MOOT

Per Curiam

On December 13, 1996, judgment was entered reflecting that Stanley T. Norton had entered a plea of guilty to residential burglary, attempted murder in the first degree, and rape. An aggregate sentence of 480 months' imprisonment was imposed.

On July 7, 2003, Norton filed in the trial court a petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule 37.1 in which he sought to have the 1996 convictions vacated. The petition was denied on the ground that it was not timely filed, and Norton has lodged an appeal of the order in this court.

Now before us is appellant Norton's motion for appointment of counsel. We declare the motion moot and dismiss the appeal because the Rule 37.1 petition filed in the trial court was indeed untimely, and thus appellant was procedurally barred from proceeding under the rule. This court has consistently held that an appeal of the denial of postconviction relief will not be permitted to go forward where it is clear that the appellant could not prevail. Seaton v. State, 324 Ark. 236, 920 S.W.2d 13 (1996); Harris v. State, 318 Ark. 599, 887 S.W.2d 514 (1994); Reed v. State, 317 Ark. 286, 878 S.W.2d 376 (1994); see Chambers v. State, 304 Ark. 663, 803 S.W.2d 932 (1991); Johnson v. State, 303 Ark. 560, 798 S.W.2d 108 (1990); Williams v. State, 293 Ark. 73, 732 S.W.2d 456 (1987).

Criminal Procedure Rule 37.2(c) provides in pertinent part that a petition under the rule is untimely if not filed within ninety days of the date the judgment was entered on a plea of guilty. Appellant did not file his petition under the rule until more than six years after the judgment was entered. Time limitations imposed in Criminal Procedure Rule 37.2(c) are jurisdictional in nature, and a circuit court cannot grant relief on an untimely petition. Benton v. State, 325 Ark. 246, 925 S.W.2d 401 (1996); Hamilton v. State, 323 Ark. 614, 918 S.W.2d 113 (1996); Harris v. State, 318 Ark. 599, 887 S.W.2d 514 (1994); Maxwell v. State, 298 Ark. 329, 767 S.W.2d 303 (1989).

Appeal dismissed; motion moot.