L. N., Matter of, P-80-476

Citation1980 OK CR 72,617 P.2d 239
Decision Date02 September 1980
Docket NumberNo. P-80-476,P-80-476
PartiesIn the Matter of L. N., A Child Under the Age of 18 Years.
CourtUnited States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

The petitioner has applied for a writ of this Court to prohibit the District Court of Sequoyah County, the Honorable Fred D Green presiding, from prosecuting him for Arson in the First Degree, according to 21 O.S.Supp.1979, § 1401.

The allegations of his petition are as follows: An information was filed on May 23, 1980, charging petitioner with Arson in the First Degree of a schoolhouse. Petitioner is seventeen years of age. For the purposes of this writ, the petitioner and the District Attorney agree that the only persons present in the building at the time of the alleged crime were petitioner's companions. Petitioner's Motions to Quash and to Dismiss and Plea in Abatement were heard in a purported preliminary hearing on July 1, 1980, but the district court reserved to rule on those motions until this Court had decided whether the facts constituted Arson in the First or Second Degree. At that hearing, however, the district court did find sufficient evidence to believe that a crime had been committed and reasonable cause to believe that the petitioner had committed the crime.

This Court has consistently refused to issue advisory opinions, and the Supreme Court has recently adopted that same position. See Application of Fun Country Development Authority, Okl., 566 P.2d 1167 (1977). In writing for that Court, the Honorable Justice Doolin said, "No controversy is here presented, no contest or challenge as to procedure is made," Application of Fun Country Development Authority, supra p. 1167.

As this Court said in Johns v. Hess, Okl.Cr., 546 P.2d 652 (1976), unless we are vested with original jurisdiction, all exercise of power must be derived from our appellate jurisdiction, which is the power and the jurisdiction to review and correct those proceedings of inferior courts brought for determination in the manner provided by law. Although the Johns opinion concerned the power of this Court to issue a writ of mandamus, the reasoning applies. An advisory opinion does not fall within the Court's original or statutory jurisdiction; neither does it come within its appellate review. To offer advice in the form of an opinion would be to interfere with the responsibility of the trial court to exercise the powers confided to it. We will not do so absent constitutional or...

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15 cases
  • State ex rel. Morrisey v. W. Va. Office of Disciplinary Counsel
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • 14 Noviembre 2014
    ...and the Petition For Writ of Prohibition is denied.Hericks, 502 F.2d at 796–97 (internal citations omitted). See also Matter of L.N., 617 P.2d 239, 240 (Okla.Crim.App.1980) (declining writ of prohibition because it “fails to allege facts sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court i......
  • State v. W. Va. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 14-0587
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • 15 Octubre 2014
    ...the Petition For Writ of Prohibition is denied.Hericks, 502 F.2d at 796-97 (internal citations omitted). See also Matter of L. N., 617 P.2d 239, 240 (Okla. Crim. App. 1980) (declining writ of prohibition because it "fails to allege facts sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court i......
  • Lambert v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • 14 Abril 1999
    ...2912, 53 L.Ed.2d 1054 (1977). 18. See, e.g., Hain I, 852 P.2d at 752; Munson, 758 P.2d at 332-33. 19. 888 P.2d at 505. 20. Matter of L.N., 1980 OK CR 72, 617 P.2d 239. 21. See Bonner v. Brock, 1980 OK CR 27, 610 P.2d 265; Greenwood v. State, 1963 OK CR 46, 381 P.2d 895; Ex parte Peck, 96 Ok......
  • Canady v. Reynolds, s. O-94-308
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • 24 Agosto 1994
    ...which may create a precedent. A. We begin with the observation this Court cannot otherwise issue advisory opinions. See Matter of L.N., 617 P.2d 239, 240 (Okl.Cr.1980) ("unless we are vested with original jurisdiction, all exercise of power must be derived from our appellate jurisdiction, w......
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