State of Utah v. Gularte III

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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State of Utah,
Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.

Edward Raymond Gularte III,
Defendant and Appellant.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)
 

Case No. 20021014-CA
 

F I L E D
(May 8, 2003)
 

2003 UT App 138

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First District, Logan Department

The Honorable Gordon J. Low

Attorneys: Barbara King Lachmar, Logan, for Appellant

Mark Shurtleff and Laura DuPaix, Salt Lake City, for Appellee

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Before Judges Jackson, Billings, and Bench.

PER CURIAM:

This appeal is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary dismissal on the basis that it is not taken from a final appealable order.

An appellate court lacks jurisdiction over an appeal "taken from an order or judgment that is not final, see Utah R. App. P. 3(a), unless it fits within an exception to the final judgment rule." Bradbury v. Valencia, 2000 UT 50,¶9, 5 P.3d 649. The State correctly notes that a statutory exception to the final judgment rule allows an appeal to "be taken from an order of any court denying bail to the Supreme Court." Utah Code Ann. § 77-20-1(6) (Supp. 2002). However, it is undisputed that the district court set bail in this case at $100,000 by stipulation of the parties. This appeal is taken from an order denying a later defense motion to reduce the amount of bail previously set. It is not a final appealable order and is not subject to any exception to the final judgment rule.

Appellant concedes that the order is not appealable as a matter of right; however, he requests this court to allow the appeal to continue as a de facto interlocutory appeal. Appellant did not seek or obtain permission to appeal by a timely petition under rule 5 of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure. We are precluded from suspending the requirements of rule 5. See Utah R. App. P. 2.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

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Norman H. Jackson,

Presiding Judge

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Judith M. Billings,

Associate Presiding Judge

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Russell W. Bench, Judge