Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief based on Appellant’s claim of actual innocence and held that the district court correctly determined that Appellant did not establish that his counsel was ineffective.Appellant pleaded guilty to the attempted mitigated homicide of his brother. Appellant later filed this petition for postconviction relief alleging that he had newly discovered evidence of his actual innocence and that his attorney was ineffective during plea negotiations. At the evidentiary hearing, Appellant’s brother testified that the incident in which he was injured was an accident. The district court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s brother’s testimony, to which the district court attributed little value based on the brother’s lack of credibility, did not establish that Appellant’s sentence was constitutionally invalid because he was actually innocent of the crime; and (2) the district court properly found that Appellant’s guilty plea was not involuntary because he received ineffective assistance of counsel. View "Guillen v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief based on Appellant’s claim of actual innocence and held that the district court correctly determined that Appellant did not establish that his counsel was ineffective.Appellant pleaded guilty to the attempted mitigated homicide of his brother. Appellant later filed this petition for postconviction relief alleging that he had newly discovered evidence of his actual innocence and that his attorney was ineffective during plea negotiations. At the evidentiary hearing, Appellant’s brother testified that the incident in which he was injured was an accident. The district court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s brother’s testimony, to which the district court attributed little value based on the brother’s lack of credibility, did not establish that Appellant’s sentence was constitutionally invalid because he was actually innocent of the crime; and (2) the district court properly found that Appellant’s guilty plea was not involuntary because he received ineffective assistance of counsel. View "Guillen v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s sentence for three separate cases involving partner or family member assault against three different women to a combined twenty years, with eight suspended. The district court included conditions in all three cases that restricted contact between Defendant and his victims. On appeal, Defendant argued that the condition prohibiting contact between him and his second victim was an unreasonable sentencing condition and an unconstitutional restriction on his common-law marriage. The Supreme Court held (1) the contested condition was not an unreasonable sentencing condition; and (2) Defendant’s general objection to the restricted contact conditions was insufficient to preserve his argument that the conditions unconstitutionally infringe upon his marriage, privacy, and due process rights. View "State v. Parkhill" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s sentence for three separate cases involving partner or family member assault against three different women to a combined twenty years, with eight suspended. The district court included conditions in all three cases that restricted contact between Defendant and his victims. On appeal, Defendant argued that the condition prohibiting contact between him and his second victim was an unreasonable sentencing condition and an unconstitutional restriction on his common-law marriage. The Supreme Court held (1) the contested condition was not an unreasonable sentencing condition; and (2) Defendant’s general objection to the restricted contact conditions was insufficient to preserve his argument that the conditions unconstitutionally infringe upon his marriage, privacy, and due process rights. View "State v. Parkhill" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of deliberate homicide committed with a dangerous weapon, holding that the district court made numerous erroneous rulings amounting to cumulative error and requiring reversal. Specifically, the Court held (1) the district court erred by excluding statements the victim made to Defendant as hearsay; (2) the district court erred by prohibiting a limited inquiry into the State’s expert witness’s credibility; (3) the district court acted within its discretion in resolving the jury’s concern about media publicity; and (4) the cumulative effect of the first two errors denied Defendant of his right to a fair trial. View "State v. Cunningham" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of aggravated assault and reversed his conviction for violating a no-contact order. The Court held (1) the State did not present sufficient evidence for the jury to find Defendant guilty of violating a no-contact order; and (2) the prosecutor’s comment during rebuttal closing argument that the jury’s “job” was to ensure the alleged victim’s safety was improper, and the nature of the remark implicated Defendant’s right to a fair trial, but this isolated incident of alleged misconduct did not result in a miscarriage of justice or compromise the integrity of Defendant’s trial. View "State v. Ritesman" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for five years and imposing financial obligations on Defendant, including public defender fees, supervision fees, presentence investigation report fees and surcharges.Defendant pled guilty to felony possession of dangerous drugs. The district court sentenced Defendant as a persistent felony offender and prescribed the minimum sentence thereunder. Defendant appealed his sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court appropriately considered alternatives to imprisonment; and (2) Defendant’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel were more appropriate for presentation through a petition for postconviction relief. View "State v. Hinshaw" on Justia Law

The district court erred by imposing a restriction upon Defendant’s release from incarceration while committing him to the Department of Corrections (DOC).Defendant pleaded guilty to attempted prostitution. The district court committed Defendant to the DOC and ordered that he could not be released from incarceration until he had completed sexual offender treatment. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for resentencing, holding that, under statute, a sentence cannot include both a placement to the DOC while also imposing incarceration by way of a restriction on release until the defendant completes sex offender treatment. View "State v. Day" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court order denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss for entrapment as a matter of law.Defendant was charged with felony attempted prostitution. Thereafter, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss, asserting the affirmative defense of entrapment. The district court denied the motion to dismiss as a matter of law, concluding that the record contained conflicting facts as to the origination of criminal intent and Defendant’s state of mind that made submitting the issue of entrapment to a jury proper. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court correctly denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss based on the affirmative defense of entrapment as a matter of law because conflicting facts existed as to whether Defendant had the requisite intent to commit the criminal act. View "State v. Lindquist" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s imposition of a condition on Defendant’s suspended sentence that Defendant pay the costs of his imprisonment, probation, and alcohol treatment “if financially able.”Defendant pleaded no contest to felony driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and was committed to the Department of Corrections for thirteen months, with an additional five years suspended. On appeal, Defendant challenged the imposition of the condition on his suspended sentence that he pay the costs of his imprisonment, probation, and alcohol treatment on the ground that the district court failed to determine his ability to pay these costs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court made the proper determination of Defendant’s ability to pay the costs that the district court imposed, and Mont. Code Ann. 61-8-731(4)(b) required no more than what the district court did. View "State v. Daricek" on Justia Law