State v. Dalman

I agree that Donald Dalman’s death moots this appeal from a postconviction order denying Dalman’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. But the majority does not discuss the issue of abatement of the prosecution. I write specially to air the law as it relates to abatement of all proceedings in direct appeals from convictions.

All the federal circuits and the majority of states hold that death, during appellate review of a criminal conviction, abates not only the direct appeal, but all proceedings from the inception of the prosecution, including the judgment of conviction. E.g., Durham v. United…