Layton City v. Cordero

----ooOoo----

Layton City,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Carlos Cordero,
Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20010938-CA

F I L E D
February 14, 2002 2002 UT App 46 -----

Second District, Layton Department
The Honorable Darwin C. Hansen

Attorneys:
Carlos Cordero, Layton, Appellant Pro Se
Gary R. Crane, Layton, for Appellee -----

Before Judges Billings, Davis, and Thorne.

PER CURIAM:

This matter is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary disposition pursuant to Rule 10(a) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure.

After a bench trial on October 10, 2001, the trial court found defendant guilty of driving on a suspended license, a class C misdemeanor. Defendant chose not to be sentenced at that time and sentencing was set for October 29, 2001. Defendant failed to appear for sentencing and the trial court issued a bench warrant. The trial court did not sentence defendant in absentia. After being picked up on the bench warrant, defendant filed a notice of appeal. However, to date, defendant has not been sentenced on the class C misdemeanor conviction. "Because defendant has not been sentenced, the appeal was not taken from a final order, and this court lacks jurisdiction to consider the appeal." State v. Hunsaker, 933 P.2d 415, 416 (Utah Ct. App. 1997) (per curiam); see also State v. Gerrard, 584 P.2d 885, 886 (Utah 1978) (stating the sentence is the final judgment in criminal cases).

Accordingly, without a sentence, there is no final appealable order and we must dismiss this appeal for lack of
jurisdiction. See Utah R. App. P. 3(a) ("An appeal may be taken from . . . final orders and judgments.").
 
 
 

______________________________
Judith M. Billings,
Associate Presiding Judge
 
 
 

______________________________
James Z. Davis, Judge
 
 
 

______________________________
William A. Thorne, Jr., Judge