Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-07-07075/USCOURTS-ca10-07-07075-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Eric Nelson Bertram
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff - Appellee, 

v. 

ERIC NELSON BERTRAM, 

 Defendant - Appellant.

No. 07-7075

ORDER

Filed September 28, 2007

Before HENRY, BRISCOE and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.

This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of the defendant’s “Motion to

Have Court Appointed Assistance Removed.” We dismiss for lack of appellate

jurisdiction.

Generally, the final judgment rule prohibits appellate review in a criminal case

until after conviction and imposition of sentence. Flanagan v. United States, 465

U.S. 259, 263 (1984). “The rule of finality has particular force in criminal

prosecutions because encouragement of delay is fatal to the vindication of the

criminal law.” United States v. MacDonald, 435 U.S. 850, 853-54 (1978) (internal

quotation omitted). No exception to the finality rule is applicable here. See United

Appellate Case: 07-7075 Document: 010141540 Date Filed: 09/28/2007 Page: 1
States v. P.H.E., 965, 854 (10th Cir. 1992) (interlocutory appeals in criminal cases

have been allowed only in the narrow circumstance where “the substantive

constitutional right at stake included the right to be free from the adverse effect of

undergoing the trial itself.”). 

APPEAL DISMISSED. 

Entered for the Court

ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk

Ellen Rich Reiter

Deputy Clerk/Jurisdictional Attorney

Appellate Case: 07-7075 Document: 010141540 Date Filed: 09/28/2007 Page: 2