WVC v. Taylor

West Valley City,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Tricia Taylor,
Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20000215-CA

F I L E D
May 4, 2000 2000 UT App 131 -----

Third District, West Valley Department
The Honorable Denise P. Lindberg

Attorneys:
Tricia Taylor, West Jordan, Appellant Pro Se
J. Richard Catten, West Valley City, for Appellee

-----

Before Judges Bench, Billings, and Davis.

PER CURIAM:

Tricia Taylor entered a plea in abeyance on March 14, 2000, and filed a notice of appeal the following day. This appeal is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary dismissal. Taylor has not filed a response, and West Valley City filed a memorandum in support of dismissal.

In criminal cases, the sentence is the final judgment from which an appeal can be taken. See State v. Hunsaker, 933 P.2d 415, 416 (Utah Ct. App. 1997) (per curiam). A plea in abeyance is "an order by a court, upon motion of the prosecution and defendant, accepting a plea of guilty or of no contest from the defendant but not, at that time, entering judgment of conviction . . . or imposing sentence . . . on condition that he comply with specific conditions as set forth in a plea abeyance agreement." Utah Code Ann. § 77-2a-1(1) (1999). Because Taylor has not been sentenced, her appeal "was not taken from a final order, and this court lacks jurisdiction to consider the appeal." Hunsaker, 933 P.2d at 416.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.
 

______________________________
Russell W. Bench, Judge
 

______________________________
Judith M. Billings, Judge
 

______________________________
James Z. Davis, Judge