Opinion
Case No. 20010192-CA.
Filed June 6, 2002. (Not For Official Publication)
Appeal from the Third District, Salt Lake Department, The Honorable Judith S. Atherton.
Janet Miller, Salt Lake City, for Appellant.
Mark L. Shurtleff and Karen A. Klucznik, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.
Before Judges Jackson, Bench, and Greenwood.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
Defendant appeals the portion of her sentence requiring her to pay restitution for the cleanup of a methamphetamine lab in connection with her conviction for possession of methamphetamine. We affirm because Defendant did not timely object to the restitution order when the sentence was imposed.
As a general rule, a defendant must timely object to an error in order to preserve the issue for appeal. See State v. Cram, 2002 UT 37, ¶ 14, 444 Utah Adv. Rep. 15. This general rule also applies in the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings. See State v. Powell, 872 P.2d 1027, 1033 (Utah 1994). In Powell, the defendant appealed his sentence claiming that the trial court failed to sentence him to the lesser penalty for manslaughter. The supreme court denied the defendant's request to correct the sentence because, among other reasons, "[the defendant] raised no objection to his sentence when it was imposed. . . ." Id. (emphasis added). Further, to preserve an issue for appeal, a party "must clearly show that it was timely presented to the trial court in a manner sufficient to obtain a ruling thereon." Holmstrom v. C.R. England, Inc., 2000 UT App 239, ¶ 26, 8 P.3d 281 (emphasis and citation omitted). In this case, although Defendant alluded to her assertion that "[i]t was not [Defendant's] house" at the initial sentencing hearing, she did not object or clearly specify her claim. Defendant neither objected when the trial court imposed the restitution sentence at the second hearing, nor asked the trial court to rule on the issue she now raises. Therefore, Defendant did not preserve the issue for appeal. See id. Accordingly, we affirm.
On appeal, Defendant does not argue plain error, exceptional circumstances, or that her sentence was illegal under Rule 22(e) of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure.
WE CONCUR: Russell W. Bench, Judge, and Norman H. Jackson, Presiding Judge.