1. On the appeal of the defendant, no defense counsel may file an appeal after the defendant's right to appeal has been extinguished;

(see, e.g., Supreme Court Decisions 91Do456, Apr. 23, 1991; 98Do253, Mar. 27, 1998). According to the records, the Defendant did not submit a written appeal to the lower court within the period for filing an appeal, and the Defendant submitted a written statement of “statement of grounds for final appeal” to the Supreme Court on April 8, 2019, when the period for filing an appeal was past.

Even if the appeal is filed, the appeal by a public defender is unlawful as it is filed after the right to appeal is extinguished.

2. As to the prosecutor’s grounds of appeal, the lower court upheld the first instance judgment that acquitted the Defendant on the grounds of violation of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts, Etc. among the facts charged in the instant case, on the grounds that it is insufficient to recognize a competitive relationship with the Defendant and B.

The judgment below

Examining the reasoning in light of the record, the lower court did not err by exceeding the bounds of the principle of free evaluation of evidence against logical and empirical rules, or by misapprehending the legal doctrine on co-principal.

3. Therefore, all appeals are dismissed. It is so decided as per Disposition by the assent of all participating Justices on the bench.