Montana Law Week

The Weekly Digest of Montana Law

Attempted deliberate homicide, hidden knife/verbal threat

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ATTEMPTED DELIBERATE HOMICIDE: Defendant with hidden knife and making verbal threat may have been prepared to kill but did not make an attempt to complete the crime, insufficient evidence to support conviction… assault on officer conviction affirmed but conditions of possible parole improperly imposed on unsuspended sentence… Hayworth reversed. [Read more…]

Confrontation, 2-way video remote testimony

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CONFRONTATION: Video testimony from Washington payor in bad check case violated Defendant’s right to face-to-face confrontation but the error was harmless as the jury was fully & fairly instructed on the law and presented with admissible evidence that proved the same facts as the tainted evidence proved… conviction affirmed… Deschamps affirmed. [Read more…]

Deliberate homicide, resentencing following PFO strike

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DELIBERATE HOMICIDE: 100 years at MSP no parole for 35 years properly imposed in resentencing following striking illegal PFO… plea to felony murder based on deliberate homicide of 8-year-old while committing deviate sexual conduct in 1987 defective but challenge waived by failure to object or appeal… plea withdrawal based on “negated” hair evidence and “crazy” transient who actually committed the murder and assaultive coercion by detectives properly denied without a hearing… Larson affirmed (memorandum). [Read more…]

Intimidation, “wrongful” 1995 conviction, 2016 threats

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INTIMIDATION: Materials offered in support of claim of wrongful conviction of sexual assault in 1995 properly excluded as irrelevant to charge of intimidation via 2016 letter to Marshals Service threatening mass murder if it failed to intervene… PFO enhancement improperly imposed based on concurrent failure to register prosecution… Ulbricht affirmed, reversed (IOR I-3(c)). [Read more…]