State v. Carlin

OPINION

FABE, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTIION

We consolidated these two cases to resolve the following question: What is the effect of the death of a criminal defendant while an appeal is pending? John Carlin III was convicted of first-degree murder. He appealed his conviction to the court of appeals and died before the opening brief was filed. Jimmie Dale was convicted of several crimes arising out of a drunk driving incident. He appealed to the court of appeals, which affirmed his conviction. He then filed a petition for hearing before this court, and we granted the petition. But after filing his…