We're obviously talking about an appeal from a Municipal Court Not of
Record (i.e. a District Court appeal). Since such an appeal results in a de
novo trial, the entire case "is considered in the same manner as if it had
originated before the tribunal to which it stands removed." Oklahoma City
v. Leonard, 1988 OK CR 191, P2, 763 P.2d 379 (quoting Shelton v. Lambert,
1965 OK 28, P11, 399 P.2d 467). So you're back in the same position you
were in when you were pre-trial in the Municipal Court. The ONLY time I
could think of that a Municipality may not have the unilateral authority to
simply dismiss the citation pre-trial in a District Court appeal would be
if 11 O.S. 27-130 applied - since that statute imposes a duty on the DA's
Office to prosecute the appeal if there is no municipal attorney who is
paid more than $3,600 per year, which effectively would mean the DA's
Office would take over prosecutorial control of the case once it gets to
District Court.

Bottom line, if you could dismiss the case in Municipal Court prior to
trial, then you should be able to do the same thing in the District Court
appeal prior to the District Court trial. True, the Municipal Court found
the person guilty. But when you get to District Court, Leonard seems to
state that what happened in Municipal Court is irrelevant and the issues in
the case stand as though they have never been resolved before.

Matt

On Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 1:44 PM D. David Haggerty <
ddavidhaggertylaw@gmail.com> wrote:

I've had to dismiss a couple that were on appeal to the District Court.
I usually notify the Court with a Notice of Dismissal and an Order that
states the same, and the judges have all signed the Order dismissing the
case.

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We're obviously talking about an appeal from a Municipal Court Not of
Record (i.e. a District Court appeal). Since such an appeal results in
a de
novo trial, the entire case "is considered in the same manner as if it
had
originated before the tribunal to which it stands removed." Oklahoma
City
v. Leonard, 1988 OK CR 191, P2, 763 P.2d 379 (quoting Shelton v.
Lambert,
1965 OK 28, P11, 399 P.2d 467). So you're back in the same position
you
were in when you were pre-trial in the Municipal Court. The ONLY time
I
could think of that a Municipality may not have the unilateral
authority to
simply dismiss the citation pre-trial in a District Court appeal would
be
if 11 O.S. 27-130 applied - since that statute imposes a duty on the
DA's
Office to prosecute the appeal if there is no municipal attorney who
is
paid more than $3,600 per year, which effectively would mean the DA's
Office would take over prosecutorial control of the case once it gets
to
District Court.

Bottom line, if you could dismiss the case in Municipal Court prior to
trial, then you should be able to do the same thing in the District
Court
appeal prior to the District Court trial. True, the Municipal Court
found
the person guilty. But when you get to District Court, Leonard seems
to
state that what happened in Municipal Court is irrelevant and the
issues in
the case stand as though they have never been resolved before.

Matt

On Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 1:44 PM D. David Haggerty <
ddavidhaggertylaw@gmail.com> wrote:

which

municipal

police

municipal

records of

to

trial.

so, what

p.m.-4:00

Terrific, thank you Matt.  Thanks also to all others who either responded
via this listserv or to me directly; much appreciated.

D. David Haggerty
OBA #21201, CBA #193, SBT #24086687

D. David Haggerty, PLLC
Attorney At Law
121 N. 3rd Ave.
Durant, OK  74701
Office #:  (580) 924-0405
Email:  ddavidhaggertylaw@gmail.com
Office Hours:  Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.,
Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

On Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 2:06 PM Matt Love matt.love@gmail.com wrote: