Colter v. State

Court of Appeals of Maryland

Colter v. State

148 A.2d 561, 219 Md. 190, 1959 Md. LEXIS 337

CourtCourt of Appeals of Maryland

DecidedFebruary 18, 1959

Docket[No. 148, September Term, 1958.]

StatusPublished

Cited by15 cases

This text of 148 A.2d 561 (Colter v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colter v. State, 148 A.2d 561, 219 Md. 190, 1959 Md. LEXIS 337 (Md. 1959).

Pincite

Opinion

Henderson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The appellant in this case was indicted along with one Tolson for storehouse breaking, larceny and receiving stolen goods. Tolson pleaded guilty, and subsequently testified against Colter in his trial on July 12, 1957, before the court without a jury. On the same day the appellant was found guilty and sentenced to a term of eight years in the Maryland Penitentiary. A motion for a new trial was filed on July 15, 1957. For reasons not disclosed by the record, the motion was not heard until July 14, 1958. After hearing, the motion was denied. Appeal to this Court was filed on July 15, 1958.

The Attorney General filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, on which we reserved judgment. It is quite clear that an *192 appeal will not lie from an order denying a new trial, at least where it is not claimed that there was an abuse of discretion. Williams v. State, 204 Md. 55, 66, and cases cited; cf. Clay v. State, 211 Md. 577, 587. It also seems clear that the timely filing of the motion for a new trial, after judgment and sentence, did not extend the time for filing an appeal. Hayes v. State, 141 Md. 280, 282. Under Rule 812 a of the Maryland Rules an appeal must be taken within thirty days from the date of the judgment appealed from. The appellant contends that under Rule 564 b the judgment and sentence was only a judgment nisi which did not become final until after the motion for a new trial was denied. This rule, however, is plainly limited to cases where “an action at law is tried upon the facts by the court”, and there is no equivalent provision in the Criminal Rules.

We are constrained to say, however, as this Court did in Hayes v. State, supra, that our examination of the record convinces us that there was no reversible error in the rulings of the trial court, and if the appeal had been taken in due time, the judgment would have been affirmed. Specifically, we think there was sufficient corroboration of the testimony of Tolson, the accomplice, to support the verdict. Cf. Judy v. State, 218 Md. 168, 176, and cases cited.

Appeal dismissed, with costs.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Henderson, J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The appellant in this case was indicted along with one Tolson for storehouse breaking, larceny and receiving stolen goods. Tolson pleaded guilty, and subsequently testified against Colter in his trial on July 12, 1957, before the court without a jury. On the same day the appellant was found guilty and sentenced to a term of eight years in the Maryland Penitentiary. A motion for a new trial was filed on July 15, 1957. For reasons not disclosed by the record, the motion was not heard until July 14, 1958. After hearing, the motion was denied. Appeal to this Court was filed on July 15, 1958.

The Attorney General filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, on which we reserved judgment. It is quite clear that an *192 appeal will not lie from an order denying a new trial, at least where it is not claimed that there was an abuse of discretion. Williams v. State, 204 Md. 55, 66, and cases cited; cf. Clay v. State, 211 Md. 577, 587. It also seems clear that the timely filing of the motion for a new trial, after judgment and sentence, did not extend the time for filing an appeal. Hayes v. State, 141 Md. 280, 282. Under Rule 812 a of the Maryland Rules an appeal must be taken within thirty days from the date of the judgment appealed from. The appellant contends that under Rule 564 b the judgment and sentence was only a judgment nisi which did not become final until after the motion for a new trial was denied. This rule, however, is plainly limited to cases where “an action at law is tried upon the facts by the court”, and there is no equivalent provision in the Criminal Rules.

We are constrained to say, however, as this Court did in Hayes v. State, supra, that our examination of the record convinces us that there was no reversible error in the rulings of the trial court, and if the appeal had been taken in due time, the judgment would have been affirmed. Specifically, we think there was sufficient corroboration of the testimony of Tolson, the accomplice, to support the verdict. Cf. Judy v. State, 218 Md. 168, 176, and cases cited.

Appeal dismissed, with costs.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

148 A.2d 561, 219 Md. 190, 1959 Md. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colter-v-state-md-1959.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack