SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR06-1129
THOMAS LEE STONE,
APPELLANT,
VS.
STATE OF ARKANSAS,
APPELLEE,
Opinion Delivered 11-2-06
MOTION TO WITHDRAW AS
ATTORNEY ON DIRECT APPEAL
MOTION GRANTED.
PER CURIAM
Thurman Ragar, Jr., a full-time, state-salaried public defender in Sebastian County,
was appointed by the trial court to represent appellant, Thomas Lee Stone, an indigent
defendant. Following a trial held on June 26, 27, and 29, 2006, appellant was found guilty
of nine counts of rape and sentenced to serve four life sentences together with five twenty-
year sentences, with the sentences to run consecutively. A timely notice of appeal was filed
with the circuit clerk, pursuant to Ark. R. App. P. – Crim. 2, and the record has been lodged
in this court.
Mr. Ragar now seeks to be relieved as counsel for appellant in this criminal appeal,
based upon the case of Rushing v. State, 340 Ark. 84, 8 S.W.3d 489 (2000) (holding that full-
time, state-salaried public defenders were ineligible for compensation for their work on
appeal) and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-87-201, et seq. (1998).
Since the court’s decision in Rushing, the law was changed by the General Assembly.
Act 1370 of 2001 provides in part: “[P]ersons employed as full-time public defenders, who
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CR06-1129
are not provided a state-funded secretary, may also seek compensation for appellate work from
the Arkansas Supreme Court or the Arkansas Court of Appeals.” That provision is now
codified as Ark. Code Ann. § 19-4-1604(b)(2)(B) (Supp. 2001).
Mr. Ragar’s motion states that he is provided with a full-time, state-funded secretary.
Accordingly, we grant his motion to withdraw as attorney on direct appeal. Greg Knutson
will be substituted as attorney of record in this matter. The clerk will establish a briefing
schedule.