State v. Carter
| Decision Date | 24 June 1889 |
| Citation | 11 S.W. 979,98 Mo. 431 |
| Parties | STATE v. CARTER. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from circuit court, Lawrence county; M. G. McGREGOR, Judge.
O. H. Travers, for appellant. The Attorney General, for the State.
Carter, the defendant, was indicted for the crime of murder in the first degree, to-wit, the killing of one Robert Crockett. He was convicted of that offense, sentenced to be hanged, and, being confined in jail awaiting the result of his appeal, made his escape, and is still at large. The fact of his escape, etc., is shown by the affidavit of the sheriff of Lawrence county. The cause of the defendant was docketed for the last term of this court; but, he being still at large, the state, by its proper officer, moved that the appeal of the defendant be dismissed in consequence of his escape. Whereupon this court at its last term ordered that if the defendant did not, on or before the first day of this term, return and surrender himself, and thus place himself in a position to abide the result of the judgment of this court upon said appeal, that the same should be dismissed.
As this case is one of first impression in this state, it is not improper to discuss the grounds upon which the order aforesaid was made. The elaborate and carefully prepared brief on behalf of the state in support of the motion to dismiss leaves nothing to be desired, and obviates any necessity for further research among the authorities. Speaking on the issue raised by the motion, Wharton says: "A writ of error will not be heard where the party suing it out has escaped from the jurisdiction of the court." Whart Crim. Pl. (8th Ed.) § 774a. It is only necessary to refer to the numerous authorities collated by the industry of the gentleman who represents the state in this behalf to show that the doctrine announced by Wharton is asserted by all of them; the principle announced being this: That a party appealing, who breaks jail pending such appeal, is in contempt of the authority of the court and of the law, and places himself in a position to speculate on the chances for a reversal, meanwhile keeping out of the reach of justice, and prepared to render the judgment of reversal nugatory or not, at...
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Branch v. Turner
...dismissal rule. The Missouri Supreme Court first applied the fugitive dismissal rule more than one hundred years ago. See State v. Carter, 11 S.W. 979 (Mo.1889). In Carter, the court dismissed the appeal of a sentenced defendant who escaped after filing the appeal because the defendant's es......
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Goeke v. Branch
...escape justice after conviction forfeits her right to appeal. State v. Branch, 811 S.W.2d 11, 12 (Mo.App.1991) (citing State v. Carter, 98 Mo. 431, 11 S.W. 979 (1889)). "[E]ven in the absence of prejudice to the state," the court explained, "the dismissal was justified by a more fundamental......
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State v. Kearns, 15306
...forfeits his rights to an appeal upon the merits of the cause." State v. Peck, 652 S.W.2d 244, 245 (Mo.App.1983). See State v. Carter, 98 Mo. 431, 11 S.W. 979 (1889); State v. Gilmore, supra; Wayne v. State, 579 S.W.2d 780, 781 (Mo.App.1979); White v. State, 558 S.W.2d 372, 375 (Mo.App.1977......
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Hicks v. State
...2 This appeal followed. DISCUSSION The first reported Missouri appellate court opinion to apply the escape rule was State v. Carter, 98 Mo. 431, 11 S.W. 979 (1889), in which the supreme court dismissed the appeal of one convicted of murder who escaped custody pending appeal and remained at ......