State of Utah v. Beeson

State of Utah,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Michael J. Beeson,
Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 981109-CA

F I L E D
June 4, 1999
  1999 UT App 181 -----

Eighth District, Duchesne Department
The Honorable John R. Anderson

Attorneys:
Michael L. Humiston, Heber City, for Appellant
Herbert W. Gillespie, Duchesne, for Appellee

-----

Before Judges Wilkins, Davis, and Jackson.

PER CURIAM:

The State agreed to reduce charges against Beeson in exchange for Beeson pleading guilty to unauthorized control over a vehicle and attempted possession of a vehicle with altered identification, class A misdemeanors. After his plea, Beeson was sentenced to one year in the Duchesne County Jail on each count, sentences to run concurrently. He did not move to set aside his plea within 30 days, but rather appealed his sentence. In the interim, Beeson has been released from jail.

An issue on appeal "is considered moot when 'the requested relief cannot affect the rights of the litigants.'" State v. Sims, 881 P.2d 840, 841 (Utah 1994) (citations omitted). "[A] criminal case is moot only if it is shown that there is no possibility that any collateral legal consequences will be imposed on the basis of the charged conviction." State v. Martinez, 925 P.2d 176, 177 (Utah Ct. Ap. 1996) (quoting Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 57, 88 S. Ct. 1889, 1900, 20 L.Ed 2d 917 (1968)). Since we cannot put Beeson in a better position than he is already in--not incarcerated in the Duchesne County Jail--and we are unaware of any collateral consequences, the appeal is dismissed as moot.
 
 
 

______________________________
Michael J. Wilkins,
Presiding Judge
 
 
 

______________________________
James Z. Davis, Judge
 
 
 

______________________________
Norman H. Jackson, Judge