Appellate Law

Appeals From Juvenile Court Subject To Shorter Deadlines; Appeal Dismissed As Untimely

In R.J.G. v. S.S.W., [Ms. 2080509] (Ala. Civ. App. Aug. 21, 2009), a portion of a father's appeal was dismissed as untimely as a result of the short deadlines for appeals from a juvenile court.  Unlike in Circuit Court, post-judgment motions in a juvenile court must be filed within 14 days of the entry of the order.  Ala. R. Juv. P. 1(B).  And, a post-judgment motion in a juvenile court will be denied by operation of law after 14 days, Ala. R. Juv. P. 1(B), as opposed to 90 days under Ala. R. Civ. P. 59.1.  Finally, appeals from a juvenile court must be made within 14 days of the entry of judgment or denial of the post-judgment motions.  Ala. R. App. P. 4(a)(3).  The father did not appeal within 14 days after the post-judgment motion was denied by operation of law, so, the appeal in one of the two cases at issue in the opinion was denied as untimely. 

Full post as published by Alabama Appellate Watch on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).