State of Utah v. Cobos

State v. Cobos

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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State of Utah,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Jody Hernandez Cobos,
Defendant.

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A+24 Hour Bail Bonds,
Surety and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20030467-CA

F I L E D
(October 17, 2003)

2003 UT App 341

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Eighth District, Vernal Department

The Honorable A. Lynn Payne

Attorneys: Nathan N. Jardine, Salt Lake City, for Appellant

Mark L. Shurtleff and Christopher D. Ballard,

Salt Lake City, for Appellee

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Before Judges Jackson, Bench, and Orme.

PER CURIAM:

Appellant A+24 Hour Bail Bonds appeals from the district court's order denying its Motion to Set Aside Entry of Judgment Against Surety and Exonerate Bond. This case is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary dismissal for lack of jurisdiction. Although the motion gave notice that this appeal might be dismissed if Appellant did not file a memorandum in response, Appellant did not respond to the motion. Appellee supports summary dismissal.

"Under our case law, a bond forfeiture order is reviewable on appeal from a final judgment, but standing alone, the order is not appealable." Heninger v. Ninth Cir. Ct., 739 P.2d 1108, 1109 (Utah 1987). Although a bond forfeiture order is not directly appealable where there is no appeal of the criminal conviction, review of the order may properly be pursued by a petition for an extraordinary writ. See id.; see also Beehive Bail Bonds, Inc. v. Fifth Dist. Ct., 933 P.2d 1011, 1012-13 (Utah Ct. App. 1997). In the present case, Appellant filed a motion to set aside the bond forfeiture and exonerate the bond. Appellant then directly appealed the order entered in the criminal case that stayed the execution of the forfeiture if Appellant posted a $5,000 bond. However, no final order or judgment has been entered in the criminal case, see State v. Hunsaker, 933 P.2d 415, 416 (Utah Ct. App. 1997) (per curiam) (noting that "[i]n criminal cases, the sentence itself is the final judgment from which an appeal can be taken"), and Defendant has not appealed his conviction. While other avenues of review may be available, Appellant did not file a petition for an extraordinary writ.

We therefore dismiss this appeal.

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Norman H. Jackson,

Presiding Judge

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Russell W. Bench, Judge

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Gregory K. Orme, Judge