O'Sullivan v. People

Citations

• 144 Ill. 604
• 20 L.R.A. 143
• 32 N.E. 192
• 1892 Ill. LEXIS 1186

Syllabus

<p>1. Practice in the Supreme Court — entry of judgment nunc pro tunc, after party's death. This court has the power of causing its judgments to be entered of record in cases pending therein, after the death of a party to the record, subsequent to the submission for decision, as of a day before his death, when the delay in causing judgment to be entered has been purely for the convenience of the court or of some of its members.</p> <p>2. Writ op error — when it does not abate by party's death. The common law rule, that a writ of error does not abate by the death of the plaintiff in error after error joined, has no application to criminal cases, as the rule rests upon the right of the defendant in error to have the judgment revived against the personal representatives of the plaintiff in error, and to thus enforce the judgment against him whom they represent.</p> <p>3. There is no right to prosecute a writ of error in any case unless it is affirmatively given, either by a rule of the common law or a statutory enactment. Our statute in relation to the prosecution of writs of error by executors and administrators has application to judgments in civil cases only.</p> <p>4. Same — abatement by death. The death of a party convicted of crime, after he has sued out a writ of error to reverse the judgment, abates the writ, even though there is joinder in error; and this result can not be prevented by the entry of judgment, nune pro tunc, as of a date prior to his death.</p>