Section 27.9 Judgment Ripe for Appeal

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

C. (§27.9) Judgment Ripe for Appeal

In order for a criminal defendant to appeal a conviction and sentence, the judgment must be final or “ripe” for appeal. In a criminal proceeding, this means that the defendant has been granted allocution, if applicable, and has been formally sentenced by the court. Rule 29.07(c) states that the conviction judgment “shall set forth the plea, the verdict or findings, and the adjudication and sentence.” It is not enough that, following a guilty verdict by a jury, the jury assesses a punishment. This is only an advisory verdict for the court, and the court must still pronounce formal judgment and sentencing of the defendant after allowing the required time for a motion for a new trial to be filed as described in §27.6 above. Section 546.590, RSMo 2000, provides for the clerk of the sentencing court to “enter such judgment fully on the minutes, stating briefly the offense for which such conviction shall have been had.” The court must inspect the minutes and “conform them to the facts.” The judgment’s validity is not affected or impaired if the court or the clerk should fail to follow these steps. Id.

If an appeal is filed by the defendant before the judgment is ripe, the appellate court will dismiss the appeal as premature or, in certain cases, hold the appeal in abeyance. The appellate courts cannot rule on the merits of a case when there is no final judgment from the trial court. State v. Collins, 580 S.W.2d 320 (Mo. App. S.D. 1979).

The following cases held that the case was not ripe for appeal because of the lack of a final judgment:

· State v. Ramos, 751 S.W.2d 135 (Mo. App. S.D. 1988)

· State v. Palmer, 556 S.W.2d 513 (Mo. App. S.D. 1977) (motion for new trial not being ruled on by the court)

· State v. Collins, 580 S.W.2d 320 (Mo. App. S.D. 1979) (a defendant must be given a chance to file a motion for new trial)

· State v. Nicholson, 544 S.W.2d 896 (Mo. App. S.D. 1976) (failure of a court to grant allocution and to render the judgment and sentence the defendant)

· State v. Craven, 635 S.W.2d 87 (Mo. App. W.D. 1982) (no record of the final...