State v. Brunswick

44 N.E.2d 116, 69 Ohio App. 407, 56 Ohio Law. Abs. 207
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 28, 1941
Docket18440
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 44 N.E.2d 116 (State v. Brunswick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Brunswick, 44 N.E.2d 116, 69 Ohio App. 407, 56 Ohio Law. Abs. 207 (Ohio Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

OPINION

By NICHOLS, J.

State of Ohio prosecutes this appeal on questions of law from the judgment of the common pleas court of Cuyahoga *209 County, wherein that court sustained a demurrer to the first and third counts of an indictment returned by the Grand Jury against David Brunswick appellee, purporting to charge ap-pellee with the crime of blackmail under §13384 GC.

The demurrer was sustained by the lower court on the ground that no offense punishable under the laws of Ohio was stated in either count.

Upon call of this appeal for hearing upon oral arguments, on November 24, 1941, counsel for appellee interposed an oral motion to dismiss the appeal for failure to file brief as provided in §13459-3 GC, it being contended by appellee “that the Court of Appeals loses jurisdiction in a criminal case if the appellant does not file his brief within the statutory period” and “that jurisdiction can not be waived.”

It is conceded by appellee that its brief was not filed with the certified transcript of the record prepared by the clerk. The judgment of the lower court was entered June 9, 1941, the notice of appeal being filed within thirty days from that ‘date, and the assignments of error was filed July 9, 1941, but the brief of appellant was not filed until November 21, 1941.

If the requirements of §13459-3 GC with reference to the filing of brief by appellant is a jurisdictional requirement, then the motion of appellee must be sustained, as we agree that jurisdiction can not be waived or conferred by agreement of parties.

It is stated orally by counsel for appellant that the recognized practice in the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Appellate District of Ohio has established the rule that appellant’s brief may be filed at any time up to the date of assignment of the appeal for oral argument.

Rule X of the Rules of Practice of the Courts of Appeals of Ohio, as amended and effective under the Appellate Procedure Act of 1935 (50 Oh Ap XLIX) provides:

“The judges of the several districts may adopt such rules upon questions of practice or as to the time of filing briefs, as they may deem expedient.”

It thus appears that the practice established in the Eighth Appellate District should not be disturbed by this Seventh District Court, sitting in the Eighth District by assignment of the Chief Justice, unless we shall find that the failure to file briefs in accordance with the provision of §13459-3 GC, deprives this court of jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Concededly, the language of §13459-3 GC, unrelated to other provisions of the *210 Appellate Procedure Act of 1935, is mandatory in form, in that it is stated therein that:

“The brief of the appellant shall be filed with the transcript and shall contain the assignments of error relied on in such appeal.”

It is claimed by appellee that where the Legislature has so fixed the time for filing the brief no rule of the court can alter the same. In our opinion, such claim fails to give consideration to other provisions of- the Appellate Procedure Act, which clearly indicates to this court that no appeal which has been duly instituted by the filing of the required notice of appeal should be dismissed upon purely technical grounds unless prejudice to the adverse party appears, such prejudice or lack thereof to be determined by the court in the exercise of sound discretion.

It is contended that our views upon this subject are at variance with the decisions of other courts of appeals, and we are referred to certain cases as being so in conflict with our decision upon this subject as to require cert&cation to the supreme court on the ground of such conflict. The cases referred to will be analyzed after calling attention to such related provisions of the Appellate Procedure Act as, in our opinion, require us to find that the requirement of §13459-3 GC, is not jurisdictional and that the seeming mandatory provisions of this section as to the filing of brief by appellant is in fact directory only, resting the matter of filing brief in criminal cases within the sound discretion of the court. This has been the rule adopted by the Seventh District Court of Appeals in both civil and criminal cases.

In our opinion many sections of the Appellate Procedure Act, other than those referred to in the “Comment” following §13459-3 GC (Page’s Ohio General Code) apply equally to criminal and civil cases and in giving construction to any particular section the whole Act (116 O. L. 104 et seq) must be considered.

We quote certain provisions of the Act; emphasizing such portions as emphasize the application of the Act to both criminal and civil cases:

Sec. 12223-49: “This act shall become effective on the first day of January, 1936, and shall apply to the proceedings in any action where the final order or judgment appealed from *211 is rendered after that date.” 116 O. L. 104 (114), §1, Eff 1-1-36.

Sec. 13233-1: “The word ‘appeal’ as used in this act shall be construed to mean all proceedings whereby one court reviews or retries a cause determined by another court, an administrative officer, tribunal, or commission.”

2: “The ‘appeal on questions of law’ shall be construed to mean a review of a cause upon questions of law including the weight and sufficiency of the evidence and shall include all the proceedings heretofore and otherwise designated in the General Code as proceedings in error.”

0* # * ⅜ sjt * * * * )}

116 O. L. 104 (105) §1, Eff. 1-1-36.

Sec. 12223-3: “Every final order, judgment or decree of a court * * * may be reviewed as hereinafter provided unless otherwise provided by law, * * * .” 116 O. L. 104 (105) §1, Eff. 1-1-36.

Sec. 12223-4: “The appeal shall be deemed perfected when written notice of appeal shall be filed with the lower court * * *. After being duly perfected, no notice of appeal shall be dismissed without notice to the appellant, and no step required to be taken subsequent to the perfection of the appeal shall be deemed to be jurisdictional.” 116 O. L. 104 (105), §1, Eff. 1-1-36.

Sec. 12223-5: “The notice of appeal shall designate the order, judgment or decree appealed from and whether the appeal shall be on questions of law or questions of law and fact. In said notice the party appealing shall be designated the appellant and the adverse party the appellee, and the style of the case shall be the same as in the court of origin. The failure to designate the type of hearing upon appeal shall not be jurisdictional and the notice of appeal may be amended by the appellate court in the furtherance of justice for good cause shown.” 116 O. L. 104 (105) §1, Eff. 1-1-36.

Sec. 12223-21: “Appeals taken on questions of law shall be heard upon assignments of error filed in the cause or set out in the briefs of the appellant before hearing. Errors not argued by brief may be disregarded, but the court, in its discretion, may consider and decide errors which are not assigned or specified.

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State v. Brunswick
47 N.E.2d 916 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1942)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 N.E.2d 116, 69 Ohio App. 407, 56 Ohio Law. Abs. 207, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brunswick-ohioctapp-1941.