Court Opinion

ID: 9607333
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:57:39.988127+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:07:43.321523
License: Public Domain

BERNSTEIN, Justice
(dissenting).
In the unusual posture of this case, I dissent solely on the ground that the court is deciding what appears to be, in practical effect, a moot question. The original declaration of forfeiture is non-existent, never having matured to the point where a judgment could be entered pursuant to Rule 73 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, and having been declared, instead, “of no effect” ; and the bonds have been “exonerated.” Now, the criminal cause having been dismissed, it is too late to declare a forfeiture of the bonds, the liability of the insurer having been terminated. State v. Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1856, 223 Iowa 1146, 274 N.W. 916, 112 A.L.R. 383; State v. Bryant, 90 Wash. 20, 155 P. 420; State ex rel. Gabe v. Main, 66 Wash. 381, 119 P. 844; All Florida Surety Company v. State, Fla., 78 So.2d 89. Accordingly, while the court’s treatment of the question on appeal may be otherwise proper, I would recognize that the dismissal of the criminal action has altered the status of the matter, warranting a dismissal of the appeal as well.
STRUCKMEYER, J., concurs in this dissent.