Magistrate's Entry of Judgment Conclusive for Determining Appellate Jurisdiction

US v. Pethick, No. 06-1525, 2008 WL 152583 (10th Cir. January 17, 2008) (published):
The Tenth Circuit considers whether it has jurisdiction over an appeal from a conviction for misdemeanor DUI that occurred on a military reservation in Colorado. In this case, a magistrate judge handled initial proceedings. A district judge then issued several pretrial rulings, presided over the jury trial, and denied the defendant's motion for a new trial. The district judge then became ill and unable to continue, and the defendant consented to have the judgment and sentence entered by the magistrate judge. On appeal, the defendant challenged rulings of the district court. The Tenth Circuit rejected the defendant's argument that, because he was appealing district court rulings, the COA had jurisdiction under 28 USC 1291. Rather, the Tenth Circuit relied on 18 USC 3402 and Fed.R.Crim.P. 58(g)(2), which gives jurisdiction over appeals from judgments entered by a magistrate judge in a criminal case to the district court. The COA strictly construed the statute and declined to divide the judgment into "presentencing" and "final" judgments. Accordingly, it determined it lacked jurisdiction and the appeal had to be dismissed without prejudice. However, the defendant's notice of appeal was effective to vest jurisdiction in the district court, although docketed in the COA.