Brass v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and related charges. Defendant timely appealed but died before his appeal was decided. Defendant's attorney filed a suggestion of death and a motion for abatement, arguing that the district court should abate the conviction and remand with instructions to dismiss the charging document. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether an attorney may file a substantive motion on a deceased client's behalf in a criminal case when, as in this case, a personal representative has not been substituted as a party to the appeal. The Court denied counsel's motion for abatement, holding (1) the attorney lacked authority to act on Defendant's behalf in these circumstances; (2) if a party dies pending a review of his appeal, the appeal will be dismissed unless the decedent's personal representative is substituted in as a party to the appeal within ninety days of the decedent's death; and (3) because the court's process caused the delay in filing the motion for substitution, in this instance only, the time for filing the substitution motion shall be extended.
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