HB 4683

Abstract

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Any party who learns of the death of a defendant in a criminal case that is pending on appeal shall promptly notify the other party and file a certificate of notice of the defendant's death with the court before which the appeal is pending. If the appeal is by the State, upon the filing of the certificate, the court shall vacate the judgment and sentence of the trial court and the cause shall be forever abated. If the appeal is by the defendant, upon the filing of the certificate, the court shall immediately stay further action in the proceeding for 28 days. During the stay, the executor or administrator of the defendant's estate, the defendant's attorney on appeal, the Office of the Appellate Defender, or the Public Defender in the county in which the defendant was convicted, or other successor in interest shall have standing to petition the court for leave to intervene in the appeal for the purpose of pursuing the appeal in place of the defendant. If the court receives a timely petition for leave to intervene, the court shall permit the petitioning party to intervene in the appeal in place of the defendant and the appeal shall proceed in the same manner as if the defendant were still alive. If, after intervention, the appeal results in: (1) the entry of an order affirming the decision of the trial court, the intervenor may continue to pursue the appeal on the behalf of the defendant or seek post-conviction relief to the extent that further appellate or post-conviction relief would have been available to the defendant were he or she still alive; (2) a finding of error by the court resulting in the reversal of a defendant's conviction, the court shall vacate the judgment and sentence of the trial court and the cause shall be forever abated; or (3) a finding of error which would require the trial court to resentence the defendant, but does not require reversal of the defendant's sentence, the court shall vacate the sentence imposed by the trial court and the conviction shall stand. If no petition for leave of the court to intervene is filed, the court shall dismiss the appeal without disturbing the decision of the trial court or sentence it imposed.