Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
State v. Wilson
Citations: 959 So. 2d 141; 2005 WL 3118939Docket: CR-04-1598
Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama; November 22, 2005; Alabama; State Appellate Court
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals addresses the appeal by the State against the circuit court's dismissal of Count I of the indictment against Michael Ivan Wilson, which charged him with second-degree unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance. The circuit court granted Wilson's motion to dismiss on May 5, 2005. The State filed its notice of appeal on the same day in the appellate court but had previously filed a notice in the circuit court on May 2, 2005, before the dismissal order was entered. The court emphasizes that under Rule 15.7 of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, a notice of appeal must be filed within seven days of the ruling and that this requirement is mandatory. Timeliness is crucial for jurisdiction, and the premature notice of appeal does not confer appellate jurisdiction. The court references previous cases to illustrate that an appeal cannot be initiated before a formal ruling has been made. Thus, the appeal is dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction linked to the premature filing. The probate court's order dated November 27, 1978, initiated the thirty-day appeal period to the circuit court, rendering the defendants' notice of appeal filed on November 8, 1978, premature, as it was submitted before an appealable order existed. This premature filing resulted in a jurisdictional defect, preventing the circuit court from hearing the appeal. Citing relevant case law, including Stanton v. Monroe County and State v. King, the court emphasized that premature notices of appeal are ineffective and do not confer jurisdiction. According to Rule 4(a)(1) of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, a notice of appeal must be filed within 42 days of a judgment's entry; thus, no valid appeal could be made before a ruling was entered. The court also noted that the State’s notice of appeal filed on May 2, 2005, prior to the May 5, 2005 order dismissing an indictment count, was similarly premature and ineffective. Consequently, without a valid notice of appeal, the court lacked jurisdiction to consider the appeal, leading to its dismissal. A dissenting opinion expressed concern over the dismissal rationale, arguing against the majority's conclusion that the State's notice was premature. Rule 4(a)(4) of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure governs the case, stating that a notice of appeal filed after a decision but before the judgment is treated as filed on the judgment date. The State's notice of appeal indicates that a hearing occurred on May 2, 2005, contradicting the majority's conclusion. The circuit court's order from October 6, 2005, reinforces this by confirming the hearing and ruling. However, the appellee claims that the trial court indicated during the hearing that Count I of the indictment would be dismissed, though the record lacks evidence of such a ruling until the October 6 order, which is deemed void as the circuit court lacked jurisdiction post-appeal. The State's attempt to supplement the record with this order was also untimely under Rule 10(g), as it was filed beyond the 14-day limit after the certificate of completion dated May 13, 2005. Thus, the official record does not show any order granting the dismissal of Count I before May 5, 2005, and the court must adhere to the established record, despite potentially harsh implications.