Farmer v. State

1911 OK CR 55, 114 P. 753, 5 Okla. Crim. 151, 1911 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 102
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 7, 1911
DocketNo. A-949.
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 1911 OK CR 55 (Farmer v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farmer v. State, 1911 OK CR 55, 114 P. 753, 5 Okla. Crim. 151, 1911 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 102 (Okla. Ct. App. 1911).

Opinion

FURMAN, PRESIDING Judge.

The Attorney General has filed the following motion to dismiss this appeal:

“Comes now Charles West, Attorney General, and appearing specially and for the purpose of this motion only, moves the court to dismiss the pretended appeal herein for the following reason: Because the record shows that the judgment of conviction was rendered on the 30th day of March, 1910, and the case-made here *153 in was not filed in the office of the clerk of this court until the 18th day of November, 1910, and after the six months had expired in which to perfect said appeal as required by section 6948, Snyder’s Compiled Laws of Oklahoma, 1909. Wherefore said Attorney General says that this court is without jurisdiction in this ease, except to dismiss said pretended appeal. Charles West, Attorney General. Smith C. Matson, Assistant Attorney General.”

The record supports the statements of fact contained in the motion. The statute referred to is as follows:

“In misdemeanor cases the appeal must be taken within sixty days after the judgment is rendered: Provided, however, that the trial court or judge may, for good cause shown, extend the time in which such appeal may be taken not exceeding sixty days. In felony cases the appeal must be taken within six months after the judgment is rendered, and a transcript in both felony and misdemeanor cases must be filed as hereinafter directed.”

Counsel for appellant in their brief say:

“The position of the plaintiff in error is that the court in which the case was tried or the judge thereof has the right, when good cause is shown therefor, to extend the time in which to make and serve a case-made and to file the petition in error beyond the six months mentioned in section 6948, sufra,!’

They further contend that the statute relied upon by the Attorney General simply prescribes the time within which the notice of appeal shall be served, as provided for by section 6949, Snyder’s Comp. Laws of Okla. 1909, which is as follows:

“An appeal is taken by the service of a notice upon the clerk of the court where the judgment was entered, stating that the appellant appeals from the judgment. If taken by the defendant, a similar notice must be served upon the prosecuting attorney. If taken by the state, a similar notice must be served upon the defendant, if he can be found in the county; if not there, by posting up a notice three weeks in the office of the clerk of the district court.”

We think that sections 6948 and 6949 should be construed together, and that they mean that the appeal must be completed within the time prescribed by section 6948, and that if there has been a failure either to file a transcript of the record or case-made with the Criminal Court of Appeals, or to serve notice *154 thereof within the time prescribed by the statute, that this court is without jurisdiction to consider such appeal. Section 6948 is an amendment, and took the place of section 5609 of Wilson’s .Rev. & Ann. St. of Okla. 1903, which is as follows:

“The appeal must be taken within one year after the judgment is rendered, and the transcript must be filed as hereinafter directed.”

This statute has been repeatedly construed by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory. In the case of Henry Swan v. United States, 2 Okla. 114, 37 Pac. 1061, the defendant was found guilty of manslaughter, and judgment and sentence was pronounced upon him on the 7th day of November, 1892, and on the 4th day of December, 1893, defendant filed a transcript of the record in the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory. The Attorney General filed a motion to dismiss this appeal upon tire ground of want of jurisdiction. Chief Justice Dale, in rendering the opinion of the court, said:

“It is well settled that appeals will lie in those cases only where the statute provides for the appeal, and that, in order for a person to avail himself of the right of appeal, he must substantially comply with all of the reasonable requirements of the statutes. The Statutes of Oklahoma, in section 4, article 16, Procedure Criminal, provide that appeals must be taken within one year after the judgment is rendered. In the case under consideration it appears that more than one year elapsed from the time the appeal was prayed for and allowed by the district judge before the same was properly taken. The statute requiring that appeals shall be filed within one year is a reasonable statute, and where a party appealing fails to bring himself within the requirements of such statute, this court will not consider such appeal.”

In the case of John Spray v. Territory of Oklahoma, 6 Okla. 1, 37 Pac. 1074, the defendant was convicted for the offense of rape. Judgment was rendered on the 19th day of December, 1892, but the record was not filed in the Supreme Court until the 16th day of January, 1894. A motion was filed by the Attorney General to dismiss the appeal. In a per curiam opinion the court said:

“An agreement of attorneys, prescribing the time or manner of taking such appeal or bringing such writ of error here, cannot *155 be substituted in lieu of the provisions of the statute. The appeal is dismissed.”

In the ease of John A. Cox v. Territory, 6 Okla. 581, 52 Pac. 1134, the opinion of the court, upon a motion to dismiss the appeal, is as follows:

“The appellant was indicted and convicted under section 13-, art. 5, c. 3, Laws of Oklahoma, 1893, of the crime of misbranding cattle, and was, on the 16th day of October, 1895, sentenced to imprisonment in the territorial penitentiary for a period of 18 months. 'The appeal was not filed in the Supreme Court, until March 22, 189? In Swan v. United States, 2 Okla. 114 [37 Pac. 1061] this court held that section 4, art. 16, of our Procedure Criminal Act, limits the time in which appeals may be taken to one year. We are still of the same opinion, and the appeal is therefore dismissed.”

It is seen by this that the Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory took the same view of this question which we have talcen. The reason why section 6948, Snyder’s Comp. Laws of Okla. 1909, was adopted in lieu of section 5609 of Wilson’s Rev. & Ann. Stats, of Okla. 1903 is that when statehood came it was found to be almost impossible to enforce the prohibitory liquor law from the fact that, under the law in force prior to statehood, the defendant was allowed one year within which to perfect his appeal. Convictions would be obtained in these cases, and the defendant would have one year from the date of judgment within which to bring his case to this court for review. So the law was amended, and the intention of the Legislature was to require defendants in misdemeanor cases to perfect their appeals within 60 days, but the power was given to the trial court or judge, for good cause shown, to extend such time, not exceeding 60 days.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1911 OK CR 55, 114 P. 753, 5 Okla. Crim. 151, 1911 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmer-v-state-oklacrimapp-1911.