Dixon v. City of Worland

595 P.2d 84, 1979 Wyo. LEXIS 414
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 17, 1979
Docket4976
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 595 P.2d 84 (Dixon v. City of Worland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dixon v. City of Worland, 595 P.2d 84, 1979 Wyo. LEXIS 414 (Wyo. 1979).

Opinions

McCLINTOCK, Justice.

Jim Edward Dixon was tried and orally convicted in thie municipal court of the City of Worland of driving while under the influence of liquor. He appealed to the district court of Washakie County and the district judge addressed a letter to the parties saying that the “Court affirms the conviction.” Dixon then appealed to this court, submitting the matter on written briefs without oral argument. We have examined the record and a majority of the court are of the opinion that it is entirely inadequate to justify exercise of appellate jurisdiction, either by the district court or this court. We therefore remand the case to the district court with directions to dismiss the appeal to that court.

Appellant elected to represent himself in the municipal court, the district court and this court. In doing so he is bound by the principle that

“ * * * When one undertakes to represent himself he is entitled to no more consideration than if he had been represented by counsel. He is held to the same familiarity with required procedures and the same notice of statutes and local rules as would be attributed to a duly qualified member of the bar.” Homecraft Corporation v. Fimbres, 119 Ariz. 299, 580 P.2d 760, 762 (1978).

As observed by the Supreme Court of Nebraska in State v. Morford, 192 Neb. 412, 222 N.W.2d 117, 118 (1974):

“ * * * One of the penalties of a defendant’s self-representation is that he is bound by his own acts and conduct and held to his record.”

This court said in Suchta v. O. K. Rubber Welders, Inc., Wyo., 386 P.2d 931, 933 (1963) that one representing himself “must expect and receive the same treatment as if represented by an attorney.”

We find the following omissions from the record:

1. The papers certified by the acting municipal judge of the City of Worland to the clerk of the district court of Was-hakie County, Wyoming do not include a form of judgment signed by the acting municipal judge as required by Rule 18(c), W.R.Cr.P.J.C. which provides in pertinent part:
“A judgment of conviction by court or jury shall set forth the plea, the verdict or findings, and the adjudication and sentence. * * * The judgment shall be signed by the justice and entered into his docket and a copy thereof delivered to the defendant if requested by him.”
and which rule is made applicable to proceedings in municipal courts by Rule 1(a)(2), W.R.Cr.P.J.C. providing as follows:
“These rules shall also apply to police justice proceedings relating to trial of offenses against the ordinances of cities and towns.”
2. The papers so certified by the acting municipal judge of the City of Wor-land do not show the dates of filing [86]*86therein of the documents so mentioned, particularly a document entitled “NOTICE OF APPEAL TO THE DISTRICT COURT,” bearing signature “Jim Edward Dixon,” dated February 15, 1978, and bearing filing date in the district court of March 21, 1978.
3. The last-mentioned document contains no endorsement thereon, nor is it otherwise shown that service of such notice was made upon the City of Worland, through its city attorney or otherwise, whether by the defendant himself or by the clerk or other official of the municipal court of the City of Worland, such service being required by Rule 23(b), W.R.Cr.P.J.C. providing in pertinent part as follows:
“In all appeals the defendant shall, within ten days after entry of the judgment, file written notice of appeal with the justice, * * * and serve a copy of the notice of appeal upon the appel-lee.”
4. The record on appeal contains a document entitled “NOTICE OF APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WYOMING” which bears filing date in the district court of May 1,1978, but contains no endorsement thereon nor is it otherwise shown that service of such notice was made upon the City of Worland, through its city attorney or otherwise, whether by the defendant himself or by the clerk of the district court, such service being required by then applicable Rule 73(a), W.R.C.P. providing in pertinent part as follows:
“An appeal permitted by law from a district court to the supreme court shall be taken by filing a notice of appeal with the district court within thirty days from the entry of the judgment or final order appealed from and serving the same in accordance with the provisions of Rule 5 * * *.”

This court has consistently held that compliance with rules promulgated by this court is required and we have regularly invoked the sanction of dismissal for failure of the appellant to comply therewith. Sun Land & Cattle Co. v. Brown, Wyo., 387 P.2d 1004 (1964); Bowman v. Worland School District, Wyo., 531 P.2d 889 (1975); Jackson v. State, Wyo., 547 P.2d 1203 (1976); Norton v. City of Lander (no opinion issued or reported, but being our No. 4741; order of dismissal March 9, 1978). In the first two cases cited the notice of appeal was filed one day late; in the last two the notice of appeal was served before a written judgment was entered.

Notwithstanding the fact that Rule 73(a) appears to consider as jurisdictional only the timely filing of the notice of appeal, we have in several other instances ordered dismissal of the appeal as the appropriate remedy for failure to comply with the direction of a rule. In Mayland v. State, Wyo., 568 P.2d 897 (1977), the notice of appeal from conviction in justice of the peace court to the district court did not “state with particularity the alleged errors of the justice or other grounds relied upon for appeal,” as directed by Rule 23(c), W.R.Cr.P.J.C. Unlike Rule 23(b), which provides that failure to file timely notice of appeal shall be deemed a waiver of the right to appeal, subsection (c) provides no express penalty or sanction. A motion to dismiss for want of a proper statement of reasons was filed with but ignored by the district court which affirmed the ruling of the justice court. Although neither of the parties mentioned this matter in their briefs in this court, we declined to consider the appeal and remanded the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss the appeal and reinstate the judgments of the justice court.

Of equal pertinence to this case is Wyoming State Treasurer ex rel. Workmen’s Compensation Department v. Niezwaag, Wyo., 444 P.2d 327, 328 (1968) where this court upon its own motion dismissed an appeal from a compensation award made by the district court.

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721 P.2d 575 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1986)
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Dixon v. City of Worland
595 P.2d 84 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1979)

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595 P.2d 84, 1979 Wyo. LEXIS 414, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dixon-v-city-of-worland-wyo-1979.