T.M. v. State (In re B.M.)

T.M. v. State (In re B.M.)

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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State of Utah, in the interest of B.M., a person under eighteen years of age.

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T.M.,

Appellant,

v.

State of Utah,

Appellee.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)
 

Case No. 20040021-CA
 

F I L E D
(February 26, 2004)
 

2004 UT App 42

 

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Third District Juvenile, Salt Lake Department

The Honorable Robert S. Yeates

Attorneys: T.M., West Valley City, Appellant Pro Se

Mark L. Shurtleff and J. Frederic Voros Jr., Salt

Lake City, for Appellee

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Before Judges Davis, Jackson, and Thorne.

PER CURIAM:

This case is before the court on its own motion for consideration of summary dismissal on the basis that this court lacks jurisdiction because T.M. has no right to appeal from the juvenile court's dismissal of a Petition for Delinquency. Appellant is the parent of B.M., the minor alleged victim in the juvenile matter. Appellant seeks to appeal the dismissal of the Petition for Delinquency claiming that the State failed to call certain witnesses that Appellant alleges were necessary to the trial, that the prosecutor's office failed to return her phone calls, that a detective provided false information in his testimony at trial, and general "inaccurate investigation."

The Rights of Crime Victims Act provides that victims have the right to appeal adverse rulings on motions related to their rights as a victim. State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29,¶22, 44 P.3d 756. The rights of the victim which may be the subject of appeal include the right to be present at important hearings, and the right to be heard in certain hearings, including the hearing related to consideration of release and other times deemed appropriate, excluding trial unless the victim is called as a witness. See Utah Code Ann. § 77-38-4 (2003). The victim, however, must affirmatively request to be heard to activate that right. See State v. Casey, 2002 UT 29, at ¶28.

The issues Appellant raises on appeal are not included in the rights a victim may appeal pursuant to the Rights of Crime Victims Act. See id. The juvenile record indicates that the victim's parents were present at every hearing, including the hearing on the detention status of the juvenile, nine other hearings, in which the minute entries related to each hearing indicate that the court heard from all parties present, and that the victim testified at trial. Also, the victim's mother specifically addressed the court on the issue of releasing the victims records. Appellant does not allege that a request was made to exercise the rights of the victims to either the juvenile court or the prosecutor and that the request was denied. As a result, the issues before the court are not issues which a victim may appeal.

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James Z. Davis, Judge

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Norman H. Jackson, Judge

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William A. Thorne Jr., Judge