Orem City v. Wight

----ooOoo----

Orem City,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Michael Lee Wight,
Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20010215-CA

F I L E D
August 2, 2001 2001 UT App 235 -----

Fourth District, Provo Department
The Honorable Donald J. Eyre, Jr.

Attorneys:
Michael Lee Wight, Provo, Appellant Pro Se

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Before Judges Jackson, Davis, and Thorne.

PER CURIAM:

Appellant Michael Lee Wight appeals convictions of No Proof of Insurance and Driving on Denied License, both infractions. This case is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

Wight's prior appeal from the same conviction was dismissed for failure to prosecute by our order dated February 8, 2001 in Case No. 20001069-CA. Wight initiated this second appeal from the judgment on March 26, 2001, following the trial court's entry of a written ruling reciting that the motion to arrest judgment had been denied at sentencing.

The time for appeal is not tolled by a motion to arrest judgment, but would be tolled by a timely motion for new trial. See Utah R. P.. P. 4(b). The motion to arrest judgment cannot be construed as a motion for new trial because it was filed after conviction, but prior to sentencing. See State v. Vessey, 957 P.2d 1239, 1240 (Utah Ct. App. 1998) (per curiam) (stating motion for new trial in criminal case filed after conviction but before sentencing is premature and does not toll appeal time). In addition, the notice of appeal is not timely because it was not filed within thirty days after entry of either the October 12, 2000 judgment or the January 30, 2001 ruling denying the motion to arrest judgment.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
 

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Norman H. Jackson,
Associate Presiding Judge
 

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James Z. Davis, Judge
 

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William A. Thorne, Jr., Judge