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STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff, vs. PETER W. WEATHERWAX, Defendant

Montana Supreme Court2000-09-11No. No. DC-99-229
304 Mont. 63

Summary

Holding. The Montana Sentence Review Division amended the defendant's sentence, increasing the prison terms to ten years on Count I (with five years suspended) and ten years on Count II (fully suspended), running consecutively, while keeping the county jail sentences unchanged, based on findings that the original sentence was clearly inadequate for rehabilitation and community protection.

The Montana Sentence Review Division heard the defendant's application to review his sentence on August 25, 2000, approximately five months after his original sentencing. The defendant was informed that the division could reduce, affirm, or increase his sentence, and that no appeal would be available from the division's decision. The division determined that the original sentence was inadequate for both the defendant's rehabilitation and community protection purposes.

The division amended the sentence by restructuring the prison terms and adding a substantial list of conditions. For Count I, the sentence was modified to ten years in prison with five years suspended, while Count II became ten years in prison with all time suspended, to run consecutively. The six-month county jail sentences for Counts III through V remained unchanged. Before parole or early discharge consideration, the defendant must complete four mandatory rehabilitation programs at the prison. Additionally, the division imposed eighteen detailed conditions governing the defendant's supervision, including financial obligations, restrictions on weapons and alcohol, drug and alcohol screening requirements, treatment participation, victim contact prohibitions, and various other behavioral requirements.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Adequacy of sentencing for rehabilitation needs
  • Adequacy of sentencing for community protection
  • Scope of sentence review division authority to increase sentences
  • Conditions of parole and probation supervision

Procedural posture

The defendant appealed his sentence to the Montana Sentence Review Division approximately five months after his original sentencing in March 2000.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

On March 30, 2000, the defendant was sentenced to the following: Count I: Five (5) years in the Montana State Prison; Count II: Five (5) years in the Montana State Prison, to run consecutively to the sentence imposed in Count I. Counts III, IV, and V: Six (6) months, on each count, in the Gallatin County Detention Center, to run concurrently with each other and with Count I.

On August 25, 2000, the defendants application for review of that sentence was heard by the Sentence Review Division of the Montana Supreme Court.

The defendant was present and was represented by Stan Peeler. The state was represented by Marty Lambert.

Before hearing the application, the defendant was advised that the Sentence Review Division has the authority not only to reduce the sentence or affirm it, but also increase it. The defendant was further advised that there is no appeal from a decision of the Sentence Review Division. The defendant acknowledged that he understood this and stated that he wished to proceed.

It is the unanimous decision of the Sentence Review Division that the sentence shall be amended to the following: Count I: Ten (10) years in the Montana State Prison, with five (5) years suspended; and Count II: Ten (10) years in the Montana State Prison, all suspended, to run consecutively to the sentence imposed in Count I. The sentences imposed in Counts III, IV, and V shall remain the same. Prior to the defendant being considered for parole or early discharge, the defendant must successfully complete the following at the prison: the Chemical Dependency Program, the Moral Reconation Treatment Program, the Criminal Thinking Errors Program, and the Anger Management Program.

Defendant is subject to the following conditions with respect to parole or probation:

1) That the defendant shall be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections of the State of Montana and shall obey all rules of probation;

2) That the defendant shall pay a probationary supervision fee of $10.00 per month or $120.00 per year, pursuant to §46-23-10, MCA, on a schedule to be determined by the Probation Officer;

3) That the defendant shall pay the statutory surcharge fee(s) in the amount of $85.00;

4) That the defendant shall pay the crime victim fee of $50.00;

5) That the defendant shall pay the Court Information Technology fee in the amount of $25.00;

6) The Defendant shall make all of the above payments to the Clerk of District Court in Gallatin County, on a schedule to be determined by the Probation Officer;

7) The Defendant shall obey all city, county, state and federal laws, all current court orders, and shall conduct himself as a good citizen at all times;

8) The Defendant shall not own, possess, or control any firearms, ammunition, deadly weapons, explosives, or destructive devices;

9) The Defendant shall not possess or be in control of any scanners or other law enforcement monitoring devices while under the supervision of the Department of Corrections;

10) The Defendant shall not purchase, possess, or consume any intoxicating beverages or enter any establishment where alcoholic beverages are the primary source of sales;

11) The Defendant shall submit to random blood, breath and/or urine screening tests for the presence of alcohol and/or drugs at the reasonable request of the Probation Officer without a search warrant;

12) The Defendant shall submit to a search of his person, residence, and /or vehicle at the reasonable request of the Probation Officer without a search warrant;

13) The Defendant shall have no contact or communication, direct or indirect, with the victim or any prosecution witness;

14) The Defendant shall participate in chemical dependency treatment, after-care, or relapse prevention throughout the entire term of his sentence, as directed by the Probation Officer, at the Defendants own expense;

Done in open Court this 25th day of August, 2000.

DATED this 11th day of September, 2000.

15) As directed by the Probation Officer, the Defendant shall obtain a mental health evaluation and follow any treatment plan recommended, including but not limited to drug therapy, at his own expense;

16) As directed by the Probation Officer, the Defendant shall enter, participate in and successfully complete an Anger Management Program, at his own expense;

17) The Defendant shall not gamble or frequent establishments featuring casino gambling;

18) The Defendant shall enter into and complete a pre-release program and/or intensive supervision program upon his release to parole or probation.

The reasons for the amendment are that the sentence is clearly inadequate, both for the defendants rehabilitation needs and for community protection.

Chairman, Hon. Jeffrey H. Langton, Member, Hon. Marge Johnson, Member, Hon. David Cybulski.