State of Missouri, Respondent v. Donald R. Ham, Appellant.

This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court. Opinion Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Style: State of Missouri, Respondent v. Donald R. Ham, Appellant. Case Number: ED81695 Handdown Date: 11/26/2002 Appeal From: Circuit Court of Franklin County, Hon. Stanley D. Williams Counsel for Appellant: Richard Greenberg Counsel for Respondent: Samantha Wacker Opinion Summary: Donald R. Ham appeals from the judgment convicting him of destruction of property. DISMISSED. Division Five holds: Ham lacks a final, appealable judgment where the court suspended imposition of sentence and placed him on probation. Citation: Opinion Author: Lawrence E. Mooney, Chief Judge Opinion Vote: DISMISSED. Crahan, J., and Dowd, Jr., J., concur. Opinion: Donald Ham appeals from the judgment convicting him of third-degree assault. Because there is no final, appealable judgment, we dismiss the appeal. The appellant was found guilty of third-degree assault by the Franklin County Circuit Court. The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed the appellant on probation for two years with conditions. The appellant has now filed his notice of appeal from this judgment. There is no right of appeal without statutory authority. State v. Williams, 871 S.W.2d 450, 452 (Mo. banc 1994).

The right of appeal in criminal cases is limited by statute to final judgments. Section 547.070, RSMo 2000. In criminal cases, a judgment is final for purposes of appeal when the judgment and sentence are entered. State v. Welch, 865 S.W.2d 434, 435 (Mo. App. E.D. 1993). Where imposition of sentence is suspended, the judgment is not final and a defendant may not appeal it. State v. Lynch, 679 S.W.2d 858, 860 (Mo. banc 1984); See also, State v. Larson, 79 S.W.3d 891, 892 (Mo. banc 2002). Here, the court suspended imposition of the appellant's sentence. As a result, there is no final, appealable judgment. We have a duty to sua sponte determine whether we have jurisdiction and if we lack jurisdiction to entertain an appeal, then it should be dismissed. Fischer v. City of Washington, 55 S.W.3d 372, 377 (Mo. App. E.D. 2001). We issued an order directing the appellant to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed. The appellant's response concedes that his conviction cannot be appealed. On the Court's own motion, the appellant's appeal is dismissed without prejudice for lack of a final, appealable judgment. Separate Opinion: None This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court.