Full Opinion

Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 457 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CR-25-525 JASON ADKINS Opinion Delivered September 30, 2026 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE WASHINGTON V. COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 72CR-20-282] STATE OF ARKANSAS APPELLEE HONORABLE JOANNA TAYLOR, JUDGE DISMISSED MIKE MURPHY, Judge Appellant Jason Adkins was convicted in the Washington County Circuit Court of four counts of first-degree sexual assault. Adkins appealed, challenging the circuit court’s denial of his continuance request and its allowing the State to amend the criminal information six days before trial. We affirmed, and Adkins was sentenced to an aggregate term of eighty years’ imprisonment. See Adkins v. State, 2024 Ark. App. 200, 686 S.W.3d 599. The mandate was issued on October 1, 2024. After the mandate was issued, Adkins filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1. The petition was not verified as required by Rule 37.1(c). Therefore, the circuit court entered an order dismissing the petition on December 9, 2024. On May 2, 2025, Adkins filed a second pro se Rule 37.1 petition. This second petition was verified as required by Rule 37.1(c), but the circuit court found it was untimely under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.2(c)(ii) and entered an order dismissing the petition for lack of jurisdiction on May 22, 2025. This appeal followed. Rule 37.2(c)(ii) requires a petitioner who appeals a judgment of conviction to file the postconviction petition “within sixty (60) days of the date the mandate is issued by the appellate court.” Adkins’s second Rule 37.1 petition was not timely under Rule 37.2(c)(ii) because the mandate was issued on October 1, 2024, and the petition was filed on May 2, 2025, well past the sixty-day deadline. The time limitations imposed in Rule 37.2 are jurisdictional, and if those requirements are not met, a circuit court lacks jurisdiction to grant postconviction relief. Williamson v. State, 2012 Ark. 170, at 4. When the circuit court lacks jurisdiction, the appellate court also lacks jurisdiction. Id. Adkins did not file a timely petition for postconviction relief that was sufficient to confer jurisdiction on the circuit court to consider his claims for relief. Accordingly, we must dismiss the appeal because the circuit court was, and therefore this court is, without jurisdiction to consider his claims. Dismissed. GLADWIN and THYER, JJ., agree. Jason Adkins, pro se appellant. Tim Griffin, Att’y Gen., by: Rebecca Kane, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee. 2