Arkansas Supreme Court affirms Jermaine Lawson convictions, applies harmless-error to disputed prior-conviction evidence

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Oct. 3, 2024, affirmed Jermaine Lawson’s convictions in Clark County Circuit Court and vacated the court of appeals’ opinion, ruling that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting certified records of Lawson’s prior felony convictions rather than accepting his offer to stipulate to felon status but that the error was harmless.

The court’s opinion, authored by Associate Justice Rhonda K. Wood, said the circuit court “abused its discretion” by admitting the certified judgments and commitment orders over Lawson’s objection and stipulation offer, but concluded that “the error was harmless” because the evidence of Lawson’s guilt on the charged offenses was overwhelming.

Lawson was convicted after a January 2021 incident in which, according to the opinion, he drove 85 mph through a 25-mph school zone, led police on a high-speed chase, and was found with a loaded semiautomatic handgun and controlled substances. The circuit court convicted Lawson of five felonies—simultaneous possession of drugs and a firearm; possession of methamphetamine; possession of cocaine; possession of firearms by certain persons (felon-in-possession); and fleeing—and one misdemeanor for possession of marijuana. The State introduced certified copies of prior felony convictions to prove the felon element after Lawson offered to stipulate that he was a felon; the trial court declined the stipulation and admitted the certified records.

The majority relied on federal and state precedents addressing similar evidentiary disputes. It cited Old Chief v. United States and this court’s prior decision in Ferguson v. State on the narrow rule that a defendant’s offer to stipulate to felon status ordinarily should be accepted rather than permitting the prosecution to introduce the details of prior convictions. But the majority applied a harmless-error review, saying that when an evidentiary error does not prejudice the defendant—because other evidence of guilt is overwhelming—an appellate court need not reverse. “We find the circuit court’s error in admitting the certified copies of Lawson’s convictions was harmless,” the opinion states, noting the State presented officer testimony, crime-scene photographs, the gun and drugs found on Lawson, and state crime-laboratory test results identifying the substances.

The opinion also notes that both the prosecutor and the circuit court instructed the jury to consider the prior convictions only as evidence that Lawson was a felon and not as proof of the other charged conduct, and the court relied on the presumption that juries follow such instructions.

Justice Courtney Rae Hudson dissented, joined by Justice Baker. Hudson agreed the circuit court erred by refusing Lawson’s stipulation offer but argued the error was not harmless, stressing that many of Lawson’s prior convictions presented to the jury involved drug offenses similar to the charged drug counts. “I cannot say that the error was slight in this case,” Hudson wrote, warning that the similarity between past and present offenses can create an especially obvious risk of unfair prejudice under Old Chief and Ferguson.

The case is listed as No. CR-23-201; the opinion was delivered Oct. 3, 2024. The circuit court judge on the underlying case was the Honorable Blake Batson. Appellate counsel listed in the opinion are Debra Reece Johnson for Lawson and Tim Griffin, Arkansas Attorney General, represented by Assistant Attorney General Michael Zangari for the State.