Title 46, Title 46

(1) The judgment shall be reduced to writing and signed by the judge. (2) A judgment that the defendant pay a fine or costs constitutes a lien upon the real estate of the defendant, which lien dates from the date of the defendant's arrest.

All fines and forfeitures collected in any court except city courts must be applied to the payment of the costs of the case in which the fine is imposed or the forfeiture incurred. After those costs are paid, the remainder, if not paid to a justice's court or otherwise provided b…

(1) On the motion of a person, a court may vacate a person's conviction of prostitution, sex trafficking or prior similar laws in effect at the time the act occurred, or another nonviolent offense if the court finds that the person's participation in the offense was a direct resu…

(1) A court, after having sentenced a person to confinement in a county jail, may, in its discretion, upon request of the county attorney and sheriff of the county and with the consent of the convicted person, order that any part of the imprisonment imposed be served in confineme…

The earnings of the prisoner must be collected by the sheriff. From those earnings, the sheriff shall pay the prisoner's board and personal expenses both inside and outside the jail and, to the extent directed by the court, pay the support of the prisoner's dependents, if any. An…

The court may by order authorize the sheriff of the sentencing county to arrange with a sheriff of any other county within the state of Montana to have the convicted person transferred to the other county where it appears the convicted person can continue the person's regular emp…

The committing court may, in its discretion, upon request of the county attorney and sheriff of such county, reduce the sentence of the prisoner up to one-fourth of the full term if, in the opinion of the court, the prisoner's conduct, diligence, and general attitude merit such d…

In cases in which the convicted person violates the conditions of a sentence, the person must be returned to the court. The court may then require that the balance of the person's sentence be spent in full confinement, and further, the court may cancel any diminution of sentence …

(1) Conviction of an offense does not deprive the offender of a civil or constitutional right, except as provided in the Montana constitution or as specifically enumerated by the sentencing judge as a necessary condition of the sentence directed toward the objectives of rehabilit…

(1) The chief justice of the supreme court of Montana shall appoint three district court judges to act as a review division of the supreme court and shall designate one of the judges to act as presiding officer of the review division. The clerk of the Montana supreme court shall …

A judge may not sit or act on a review of a sentence that was imposed by the judge. In any case in which review of a sentence imposed by any of the judges serving on the review division is to be acted on by the division or if any member is unavailable to serve, the chief justice …

(1) A person sentenced to a term of 1 year or more in the state prison or to the custody of the department of corrections by a court of competent jurisdiction may within 60 days from the date the sentence was imposed, except in a case in which a different sentence could not have …

(1) In each case in which an application for review is filed in accordance with 46-18-903, the review division: (a) (i) shall review the judgment as it relates to the sentence imposed and any other sentence imposed on the person at the same time; and (ii) may order a different se…

(1) The decision of the review division in each case is final, and the reasons for the decision must be stated in the decision. The original of each decision must be sent to the clerk of the court for the county in which the judgment was rendered, and a copy must be sent to the j…

(1) Upon oral pronouncement of a sentence imposing punishment of imprisonment, commitment to the department of corrections, placement in a prerelease center, community corrections facility, or other place of confinement, or death, the court shall commit the defendant to the custo…

(1) If a judgment is for a fine alone or for a fine and imprisonment, execution may issue on the fine portion of the judgment, any unpaid interest accrued on the fine portion of the judgment, and costs and fees incurred in collecting the fine portion of the judgment as on a judgm…

(1) In pronouncing the sentence of death, the court shall set the date of execution, which may not be less than 30 days or more than 60 days from the date the sentence is pronounced. If execution has been stayed by any court and the date set for execution has passed prior to diss…

If after judgment of death there is good reason to suppose that the defendant lacks mental fitness, the mental fitness of the defendant will be determined in accordance with the provisions of chapter 14 of this title.

(1) If it is found that defendant is mentally fit as provided in 46-19-201, the warden of the Montana state prison shall execute the judgment. (2) If it is found that the defendant lacks fitness, the execution of judgment must be suspended and the court shall commit the defendant…

If there is good reason to suppose that a woman against whom a judgment of death is rendered is pregnant, the sheriff of the county, with the concurrence of the judge of the court by which the judgment was rendered, shall summon a jury of three physicians to inquire into the supp…

If it is found by the inquiry referred to in 46-19-203 that the woman is not pregnant, the warden of the Montana state prison shall execute the judgment. If it is found that the woman is pregnant, the warden shall suspend the execution of judgment and transmit the inquisition to …

The Western Interstate Corrections Compact as contained herein is hereby enacted into law and entered into on behalf of this state with any and all other states legally joining therein in a form substantially as follows: WESTERN INTERSTATE CORRECTIONS COMPACT ARTICLE I PURPOSE AN…

The courts, departments, agencies, and officers of this state and its subdivisions shall enforce this compact and shall do all things appropriate to the effectuation of its purposes and intent which may be within their respective jurisdictions, including but not limited to the ma…

The governor may designate the department of corrections to enter into contracts recommended by the department on behalf of this state as may be appropriate to implement the participation of this state in the Western Interstate Corrections Compact pursuant to 46-19-301.

Any court or state agency having power to commit or transfer an inmate (as defined in Article II(4) of the Western Interstate Corrections Compact) to any institution for confinement may commit or transfer such inmate to any institution outside this state if this state has entered…

The board of pardons and parole and the department of corrections shall hold hearings as may be requested by any other party state pursuant to Article IV(6) of the Western Interstate Corrections Compact.

The Interstate Corrections Compact is entered into by this state with any and all other states legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows: INTERSTATE CORRECTIONS COMPACT ARTICLE I PURPOSE AND POLICY The party states, desiring by common action to fully utilize an…

The department of corrections shall enforce this compact and shall do all things appropriate to the effectuation of its purposes and intent which may be within its jurisdiction, including but not limited to the making and submission of the reports that are required by the compact…

(1) This chapter shall govern review in all criminal cases. (2) All existing methods of review in criminal cases in the state are abolished. After January 1, 1968, the only method of review in criminal cases shall be by notice of appeal.

(1) Except as otherwise specifically authorized, the state may not appeal in a criminal case. (2) The state may appeal from any court order or judgment the substantive effect of which results in: (a) dismissing a case; (b) modifying or changing the verdict as provided in 46-16-70…

(1) An appeal may be taken by the defendant only from a final judgment of conviction and orders after judgment which affect the substantial rights of the defendant. (2) Upon appeal from a judgment, the court may review the verdict or decision and any alleged error objected to whi…

When several defendants are tried jointly, any one or more of them may take an appeal but those who do not join in the appeal shall not be affected thereby.

(1) If an appeal is taken, a sentence of death must be stayed by order of the trial court until final order by the supreme court. (2) If an appeal is taken and the defendant is admitted to bail, a sentence of imprisonment must be stayed by the trial court. (3) If an appeal is tak…

An appeal taken by the state in no case stays or affects the operation of the judgment or order in favor of the defendant until judgment or order is reversed.

(1) Whenever the record on appeal contains any order, ruling, or proceeding of the trial court against the convicted person affecting the convicted person's substantial rights on the appeal of the cause, together with any required objection of the convicted person, the supreme co…

On appeal the reviewing court may: (1) reverse, affirm, or modify the judgment or order from which the appeal is taken; (2) set aside, affirm, or modify any or all of the proceedings subsequent to or dependent upon the judgment or order from which the appeal is taken; (3) reduce …

(1) Upon termination of the appeal, the supreme court shall remand the cause with proper instruction together with the opinion of the court. The clerk shall return all original documents to the trial court. (2) After the cause has been remanded to the trial court, the appellate c…

If a judgment against the defendant is reversed without ordering a new trial, the appellate court shall: (1) if the defendant is in custody, direct the defendant to be discharged from custody; (2) if the defendant is on bail, direct that the defendant's bail be exonerated; or (3)…

(1) A person adjudged guilty of an offense in a court of record who has no adequate remedy of appeal and who claims that a sentence was imposed in violation of the constitution or the laws of this state or the constitution of the United States, that the court was without jurisdic…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a petition for the relief referred to in 46-21-101 may be filed at any time within 1 year of the date that the conviction becomes final. A conviction becomes final for purposes of this chapter: (a) when the time for appeal to the Montana …

The proceeding for relief under 46-21-101 must be commenced by filing a verified petition with the clerk of the appropriate court. The clerk shall docket the petition upon its receipt and bring the petition promptly to the attention of the court.

(1) The petition for postconviction relief must: (a) identify the proceeding in which the petitioner was convicted, give the date of the rendition of the final judgment complained of, and clearly set forth the alleged violation or violations; (b) identify any previous proceedings…

(1) (a) All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner under 46-21-101 must be raised in the original or amended original petition. The original petition may be amended only once. At the request of the state or on its own motion, the court shall set a deadline for the filing of a…

(1) A person convicted of a felony may file a written petition for performance of DNA testing, as defined in 44-6-101, in the court that entered the judgment of conviction. The petition must include the petitioner's statement that the petitioner was not the perpetrator of the fel…

(1) (a) A law enforcement agency shall preserve biological evidence that the agency has reason to believe contains DNA material and that is obtained in connection with a felony for which a conviction is obtained. The agency shall preserve the evidence for a minimum of 3 years aft…

(1) (a) Unless the petition and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the petitioner is not entitled to relief, the court shall cause notice of the petition to be sent to the county attorney in the county in which the conviction took place and to the attorney g…