Court Opinion

ID: 9850734
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:02:07.395759+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:42.567764
License: Public Domain

BENCH, Presiding Judge
(dissenting):
I would dismiss this appeal.
In State v. Tuttle, 713 P.2d 703, 704 (Utah 1985), the Utah Supreme Court stated that “under the settled rule of Hardy v. Morris, Utah, 636 P.2d 473 (1981) [,] ... one who escapes places himself beyond the reach of the judicial system and any ruling cannot be enforced against him; therefore, he should not be allowed to pursue an appeal while out of custody.” It is undisputed that Moya is presently a fugitive from the criminal justice system. Because Moya has placed himself beyond the reach of the judicial system, his appeal should be dismissed.
My colleagues erroneously proceed to decide Moya’s appeal. This error is compounded by their holding that Moya’s probation expired by its own terms eighteen months after the initial sentencing in September, 1984. The obvious flaw in the majority’s analysis is that Utah Code Ann. § 77-18-l(10)(a) (Interim Supp.1984) did not unconditionally and automatically terminate any and all probationary periods at eighteen months. Section 77-18-l(10)(a) clearly stated that its effect was limited to those cases where the probationer did not violate probation. In the present case, Moya violated his probation, an incident report was filed by AP & P, and a bench warrant was issued; therefore, the eighteen-month limitation was tolled. See Smith v. Cook, 803 P.2d 788 (Utah 1990).
As a practical matter, I fear the majority’s holding in this case will encourage other probationers to abscond until the statutory time after sentencing has elapsed. The probationers may thereby be free from the threat of incarceration and all conditions attached to their probation. This bizarre possibility will, in turn, lead trial courts not to even consider probation as an alternative at sentencing.