DEE WOOLLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Dee Woolley appeals five convictions for obtaining money through worthless checks. The Florida District Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal sua sponte because Woolley failed to timely file separate notices of appeal, which were not filed until April 26, 1966—more than 90 days after judgment was entered on December 16, 1965.
The Court held that the notices of appeal were untimely and therefore the appeals must be dismissed. Under Florida Appellate Rule 6.4, an appeal must be taken by filing a notice with the clerk unless the appellant is adjudged insolvent prior to filing. Since Woolley did not file his notices until April 26, 1966—more than 90 days after the judgments were entered—the appeals were not timely taken.
“It has long been the law in Florida that separate notices of appeal are necessary to review separate judgments.”
Establishes the foundational requirement that Woolley must file separate notices for each of his five convictions.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWoolley was charged with five counts of obtaining money or property in return for worthless checks under Fla. Stat. § 832.05. He was tried in a single…
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Appellant, defendant below, brings appeal from five judgments and sentences entered pursuant to a jury verdict. The cases have been consolidated for our consideration.
Five informations were filed against defendant charging him with five different offenses of obtaining money or property in return for worthless checks in violation of § 832.05, Fla.Stats, F.S.A. Defendant was tried for all five offenses in a single jury trial where he was represented by private counsel. The jury found defendant guilty as charged in each information.
On December 16, 1965, defendant was adjudged guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment for each crime, sentences to run concurrently. On March 11, 1966, some 85 days after judgment and sentence had been entered, defendant, pro se, filed a single notice of appeal directed to all five judgments. This is case number 7038 in this Court.
It has long been the law in Florida that separate notices of appeal are necessary to review separate judgments. Simring v. State, 77 So.2d 833 (Fla.1955); Rocklin v. State, 61 So.2d 484 (Fla.1952); Wilcox v. State, 171 So.2d 425 (D.C.A.Fla.1965); and Carroll v. State, 171 So.2d 196 (D.C.A.Fla.1964). Defendant’s notice of appeal filed in case number 7038 attempts to appeal all five judgments in a single notice and is therefore defective.
Apparently realizing his mistake in case number 7038, defendant then prepared separate notices of appeal for each judgment. An order entered by the trial court on May 26, 1966 states:
“This cause came on to be heard, sua sponte, on a review of the records reflecting that certain Notices of Appeal had not been filed herein; and it appearing that the defendant delivered to the Clerk of this Court five separate Notices of Appeal which were received by the Clerk of this Court on the 16th day of March, 1966; and it further appearing that on said date the defendant had not been declared insolvent nor submitted the required filing fee for the filing of said Notices of Appeal; and said Notices of Appeal having been marked ‘received¡ but not filed, as of the 16th day of March 1966; and it further appearing that thereafter, upon a proper Affidavit of Insolvency this Court entered an Order of Insolvency on the 26th day of April, 1966, but that the aforesaid Notices of Appeal, through inadvertence, were not filed pursuant to said Order of Insolvency on said date and the Court being otherwise fully advised in the premises,
“It is Ordered and Adjudged that the Clerk of this Court be, and he is hereby, directed to file the aforesaid Notices of Appeal, unfiled as aforesaid, nunc pro *708tunc as of April 26, 1966.” [Emphasis added.]
Rule 6.4, Fla. Appellate Rules, 31 F.S.A., provides in part:
“An appeal may be taken only by filing with the clerk of the lower court a notice in writing stating that the appellant appeals from a judgment, order, ruling or sentence, as the case may be, and if the appeal be taken by a defendant, by depositing a filing fee in the amount prescribed by law * * * unless the appellant is adjudged insolvent prior to the time of such filing * * [Emphasis added.]
It appears that while defendant delivered his notices of appeal on March 16, 1966, 90 days after entry of the judgments, they were not filed until April 26, 1966. This is so because defendant apparently did not tender the appropriate filing fee on March 16, 1966, and he was not adjudicated insolvent until April 26, 1966. As a matter of fact, the record contains an order entered by the trial court dated March 29, 1966 finding that defendant was not insolvent at that time.
Since the notices were not filed until April 26, 1966, they are untimely as they were filed more than 90 days from the entry of the judgments and sentences sought to be appealed. Cf. Clark v. State, Fla.App., 191 So.2d 870 filed November 4, 1966.
In view of the foregoing discussion, cases numbered 7038, 7183, 7184, 7185, 7186 and 7187 are hereby dismissed sua sponte.
ALLEN, C. J., and SHANNON, J., concur.
ON REHEARING
Defendant’s Petition for Rehearing has alleged, among other things, that this Court dismissed his appeal in case numbered 7038 because defendant was adjudicated insolvent after the 90-day appeal period had expired. This was not the case. We originally decided to dismiss case numbered 7038 because defendant had improperly attempted to appeal five separate judgments in one notice of appeal. Defendant contends that the “prevailing practice and appellate case law” of this state is that where an appellant has attempted to appeal two or more separate judgments in a single notice of appeal he should be given leave to elect one judgment he wishes to have considered.
An examination of Rocklin v. State, 61 So.2d 484 (Fla.1952); Wilcox v. State, 171 So.2d 425 (D.C.A.Fla.1965); Carroll v. State, 171 So.2d 196 (D.C.A.Fla.1964), and other cases dealing with the subject, reveals that permitting an appellant to select one of his judgments to be considered by the appellate court is the “prevailing practice” in Florida. The case law on the subject certainly does not indicate that this policy is any sort of procedural or substantive right. However, in view of the fact that we have in the past allowed appellants such an election, we will do the same for defendant in this case and grant rehearing in case numbered 7038. In all other respects, defendant’s Petition for Rehearing is denied.
Defendant filed a notice of election, selecting one of the five judgments and convictions for our consideration. We will determine that case on the merits.
Defendant was charged by direct information with obtaining money or property in return for a worthless check in violation of § 832.05, Fla.Stats., F.S.A. He was tried before a jury and found guilty. An examination of the record reveals that the evidence presented was sufficient to sustain the verdict. See Shargaa v. State, 84 So.2d 42 (Fla.1955). Defendant’s judgment and sentence is therefore affirmed.
ALLEN, C. J., and SHANNON, J., concur.
LILES, Judge.
Defendant’s Petition for Rehearing has alleged, among other things, that this Court dismissed his appeal in case numbered 7038 because defendant was adjudicated insolvent after the 90-day appeal period had expired. This was not the case. We originally decided to dismiss case numbered 7038 because defendant had improperly attempted to appeal five separate judgments in one notice of appeal. Defendant contends that the “prevailing practice and appellate case law” of this state is that where an appellant has attempted to appeal two or more separate judgments in a single notice of appeal he should be given leave to elect one judgment he wishes to have considered.
An examination of Rocklin v. State, 61 So. 2d 484 (Fla.1952); Wilcox v. State, 171 So. 2d 425 (D.C.A.Fla.1965); Carroll v. State, 171 So. 2d 196 (D.C.A.Fla.1964), and other cases dealing with the subject, reveals that permitting an appellant to select one of his judgments to be considered by the appellate court is the “prevailing practice” in Florida. The case law on the subject certainly does not indicate that this policy is any sort of procedural or substantive right. However, in view of the fact that we have in the past allowed appellants such an election, we will do the same for defendant in this case and grant rehearing in case numbered 7038. In all other respects, defendant’s Petition for Rehearing is denied.
Defendant filed a notice of election, selecting one of the five judgments and convictions for our consideration. We will determine that case on the merits.
Defendant was charged by direct information with obtaining money or property in return for a worthless check in violation of § 832.05, Fla.Stats., F.S.A. He was tried before a jury and found guilty. An examination of the record reveals that the evidence presented was sufficient to sustain the verdict. See Shargaa v. State, 84 So. 2d 42 (Fla.1955). Defendant’s judgment and sentence is therefore affirmed.
ALLEN, C. J., and SHANNON, J., concur.
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Williams v. State, 324 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 1975)…t Court in Thomas v. City of Gainesville, 220 So. 2d 644 (Fla.App. 1st 1969), wherein it held likewise. At that period in time the Mur-phree and Thomas decisions were in direct conflict with the Second District Court’s decisions in Woolley v. State, 193 So. 2d 706 (Fla.App.2d 1966) and Clark v. State, 191 So. 2d 870 (Fla.App.2d 1966). Our decision in City of Gainesville v. Thomas, supra, was a compromise between these two diametrically opposing views. Regrettably, the passage of time has shown us that this co…
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Obbie Lee Hollimon and Cleveland Williams v. State, 232 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 1970)…position that the filing of a single notice of appeal from two separate judgments is not jurisdictional but is an irregularity that can be waived. But in Wilcox and Hanks v. State, Fla.App.3d 1965, 171 So. 2d 425; Woolley v. State, Fla.App.2d 1966, 193 So. 2d 706, and Bass v. State, Fla.App.1st 1968, 215 So. 2d 628, the rule of the Rocklin case rather than that of the Lowe case was followed, even though it appears that the separate charges against the one defendant in the Woolley and Bass cases and against t…
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Thomas v. The City OF Gainesville, 220 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 1st DCA 1969)…. State, (Fla.App.1966) 184 So. 2d 222; State ex rel. Ervin v. Smith, (Fla.1964) 160 So. 2d 518. . State ex rel. Moore v. Murphree, (Fla.App.1958) 106 So. 2d 430. . Clark v. State, (Fla.App.1966) 191 So. 2d 870. . Woolley v. State, (Fla.App.1967) 193 So. 2d 706.…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Crawford v. McGraw, 61 So.2d 484 (Fla. 1952)
- Shargaa v. State, 84 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 1955)
- Isiah Wilcox and Frank Hanks v. State, 171 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 3d DCA 1965)
- Clark v. State, 191 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)
- Vance A. Gordon v. Walker, 171 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 1st DCA 1965)
- Simring v. State, 77 So. 2d 833 (Fla. 1955)
- Carroll v. State, 171 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)