CITY OF MIAMI, PETITIONER,
v.
MARY BROWN, ALSO KNOWN AS NANCY PERKINS, RESPONDENT
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The City of Miami appealed a circuit court order directing retrial of a shoplifting case in municipal court after the defendant's conviction. The appellate court held that when a defendant has made all practicable efforts to create an adequate appellate record but the city refuses to cooperate, the defendant should not be deprived of appellate review, and the case must be considered on the merits rather than dismissed or remanded for retrial.
The defendant should not be deprived of appellate review when she has done all that is practicable to make a record and the appellee refuses to cooperate. The circuit court's order denying the city's motion to dismiss the appeal was affirmed, but the order directing retrial was reversed, and the case was remanded to the circuit court to consider the appeal on the merits based on the record as made.
[1] An appellate court may consider an appeal on the record as it exists when the appellant has made all practicable efforts to create a record.
[2] An appellant should not be deprived of the benefit of an appeal by the refusal of the appellee to cooperate in establishing a record.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In the circumstances of this case, the circuit court was entitled to consider the appeal on the record as it then stood. The appellant has done all that was practicable toward making a record.”
Establishes that when an appellant makes all practicable efforts to create an appellate record without a court reporter, the court may proceed based on that record.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFollowing her conviction in municipal court for shoplifting, the defendant appealed to circuit court. No stenographic report was made of the trial pro…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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Presented for review on certiorari by the City of Miami is an order of the circuit court directing retrial by the municipal court of the City of Miami of a shoplifting charge against the respondent.
Following her conviction in the municipal court the defendant appealed to the circuit court. No stenographic report was made of the proceedings and testimony in the trial court. The parties could not agree upon a stipulation for contents of an appeal record, as provided for by Rule 6.7(f) FAR 32 F.S.A., nor was the record reconstructed as provided for by § 59.15(4) Fla.Stat., F.S.A.
The city moved to dismiss the appeal. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss and made an effort to have a record prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate in such circumstance.1 The court first granted the appellant thirty days “in which to correct or complete the filing of a proper record on appeal,” providing that upon failure of the appellant to do so the case would be dismissed. There*79after the appellant filed a motion reciting that she had been unable to obtain a stipulation as to the record, and that the judge who tried the case was no longer a member of the court. The motion requested the court to compel the co-operation of the attorney for the city, in regard to establishment of a record.
The city attorney again moved for dismissal, for failure of the appellant to produce an appropriate record within the time allowed. The court then entered an order allowing the appellant fifteen days in which to try to obtain a certified statement of the facts from the judge before whom the case was tried, and providing that if such could not be obtained the appellant should file a sworn statement of the testimony given at trial as remembered. Therein the appellee city was given similar directions to obtain a certificate from the trial judge, and it was ordered that if the certificate was not forthcoming and a statement of the evidence was filed by the appellant, the city could object thereto and file a “corrected statement displaying error in appellant’s statement.”
Thereafter the appellant filed a statement of the proceedings and evidence at trial, in the form of a stipulation signed by the attorney for the appellant, but not signed by or on behalf of the city. Therewith there was filed on behalf of the appellant an affidavit as to inability to obtain a certificate from the trial judge, and verifying the statements as contained in the filed proposed stipulation.
Following those procedures the trial court entered the order which is the subject of this appeal in which it was noted that no court reporter had been present at trial; that the appellant had filed a statement of the facts appearing at trial; that the appellee city had refused to join in that statement and had refused to submit “their own statement of facts”; and that the trial judge could not remember the case and could not certify as to the evidence. Based thereon the court ordered that the case be remanded to the trial court and retried.
In the circumstances of this case, the circuit court was entitled to consider the appeal on the record as it then stood. The appellant has done all that was practicable toward making a record. Appellant should not be deprived of the benefit thereof by refusal of the appellee or its counsel to co-operate or assist therein.
Accordingly, the order of the circuit court denying the city’s motion to dismiss the appeal is affirmed; the provision of such order for a retrial of the case in the municipal court is reversed; and the cause is remanded to the circuit court with direction to consider and dispose of the appeal on the merits, on the basis of the record as made.
It is so ordered.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Sanford KAY and Rebecca Kay v. Fernandez, 373 So. 2d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…after trial had begun when the defendants requested a recess for the purpose of then procuring a court reporter. No reversible error is shown. See Cleary Bros. Const. Co. v. Phelps, 156 Fla. 461, 24 So. 2d 51 (1945); and cf. City of Miami v. Brown, 256 So. 2d 78 (Fla.3d DCA. 1971). The second point urges that the trial judge erred in failing to hold that as a matter of law the delays in bringing suit constituted a defense of laches. Laches being an equitable defense, the appropriate defense for a simple r…
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City OF Miami v. Brown, 263 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 1972)…Certiorari denied. 256 So. 2d 78. ROBERTS, C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Moyer v. Moyer, 114 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 3d DCA 1959)
- Lottie Sykes Downing v. Bird, 145 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- Lydem v. Lilia Rojas DePIERA and Henri F. Withington and Gladys Withington, 147 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)
- Anne Grace Short v. Short, 162 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)
- Harwell v. Wilder, 247 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971)
- Pottash v. DRY & Co., 8 Fla. Supp. 174 (Dade Cty. Cir. Ct. 1956)
- Reba Richter v. Waddill, 204 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967)
- Bryant v. State, 204 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)