State v. Flores
State v. Flores, 2025 UT App 15 (Per Curiam)
Criminal
The Utah Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding:
- Defendant’s notice of appeal was untimely. Defendant’s declaration did not comply with the prison mailbox rule because it failed to state that first-class postage had been prepaid.
- Because the notice of appeal did not arrive at the court, the prison mailbox rule did not apply.
- Practice tip: If an inmate deposits a document on time, complies with the institution’s mailing rules, and the document was improperly returned to the inmate, then the appropriate remedy is to file a motion to reinstate the time to appeal in the district court. The court can then consider evidence of the prison mail office’s error and determine whether “the defendant was deprived of the right to appeal through no fault of the defendant.”