State v. Violette
| Decision Date | 27 January 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. DA 07-0652.,DA 07-0652. |
| Citation | 2009 MT 19,201 P.3d 804 |
| Parties | STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Ronald Lee VIOLETTE, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
For Appellant: John C. Heenan; Heenan Law Firm; Billings, Montana.
For Appellee: Hon. Steve Bullock, Montana Attorney General; Sheri K. Sprigg, Assistant Attorney General; Helena, Montana, Lewis K. Smith, Powell County Attorney, Deer Lodge, Montana.
¶ 1 Ronald Lee Violette ("Violette") was charged by information in the Third Judicial District Court, Powell County, with felony attempted deliberate homicide, two counts of felony criminal endangerment, felony criminal mischief, and misdemeanor criminal trespass. Following a stipulation between Violette and the State, the District Court found Violette not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and committed him to the Department of Public Health and Human Services ("DPHHS") for a period of ten years. Violette appeals, claiming the District Court erred by denying his motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. For the reasons set forth below, we dismiss the appeal.
¶ 2 We recharacterize the issue on appeal as follows:
¶ 3 Whether Violette has a right of appeal when he was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
¶ 4 The charges in this case stemmed from an incident that occurred at the Montana State Prison on May 11, 2006. According to reports in the record, Violette drove his vehicle to the Montana State Prison and told a checkpoint officer that he was an attorney. However, instead of proceeding towards the administration building, Violette drove to the rear guard station near the prison industries building and attempted to access a secure area. During an attempt to leave the prison in his vehicle, Violette hit a patrol vehicle head-on and ultimately pinned the officer who attempted to stop Violette between the two vehicles after the officer exited his vehicle and ordered Violette to stop. The officer was able to remove his service revolver after Violette backed up his vehicle. As Violette drove past the officer, the officer fired at shot at Violette, striking him in the left arm.
¶ 5 Sheriff's deputies from Powell County were notified of the incident and were able to intercept Violette's vehicle by the cemetery in Deer Lodge, but Violette continued to lead officers on a circuitous route though the town's alleys and back streets. Eventually Violette drove onto Interstate 90 and proceeded towards Anaconda. Officers from Anaconda-Deer Lodge County ultimately took over the pursuit and followed Violette from Interstate 90 onto Highway 1 towards Opportunity. After a high-speed chase in which officers unsuccessfully attempted to force Violette's vehicle off the road, Violette pulled into a residential driveway in Opportunity where he was surrounded by officers and removed from the vehicle.
¶ 6 Violette was charged on May 25, 2006, with the offenses described above. On the same day, following a motion by defense counsel, the District Court ordered a psychological evaluation of Violette to determine whether he suffered from a mental disease or defect or serious developmental disability. Violette was evaluated and, pursuant to a stipulation between the parties, determined to be unfit to proceed by reason of mental disease or defect.
¶ 7 On or about October 23, 2006, the District Court received a letter from the Montana State Hospital stating that Violette was competent to proceed. The State filed a motion to proceed on February 14, 2007. On March 1, 2007, Violette pled not guilty to the charges and waived a jury trial. However, on April 6, 2007, the parties filed a stipulation in which Violette agreed to plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. The stipulation provided that "[s]ince the parties have in this agreement stipulated that the outcome of a trial would likely be a finding of [n]ot [g]uilty by reason of mental disease or defect, the State and the Defendant agree that this case can proceed as if a verdict of not guilty by mental disease or defect was returned after a jury or at a bench trial as articulated in Mont.Code Ann. § 46-14-301."
¶ 8 The District Court accepted the plea at the change of plea hearing on May 10, 2007, and found Violette not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. During the hearing but immediately prior to the court's formal acceptance of the plea, defense counsel made an oral motion to dismiss the case on speedy trial grounds, alleging that 203 days had passed between the time Violette was determined competent to proceed and the change of plea hearing. However, defense counsel agreed to have the plea accepted so long as the record reflected that counsel "raised the issue for speedy trial before the Court accepted the stipulation." The court ordered the parties to brief the speedy trial issue but did not rule on the issue or render an adverse determination prior to accepting the plea. In his briefing to the District Court, Violette argued that a speedy trial analysis was triggered by the passage of 203 days from the date of the competency report on October 20, 2006, to the date the court accepted his plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on May 10, 2007. Violette argued that the delay could be longer if the court considered the additional time requested by the State to file its reply brief on the speedy trial motion.
¶ 9 The District Court denied Violette's motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds on July 27, 2007. In denying the motion, the District Court considered the time between the competency determination and the acceptance of the plea, finding a passage of 202 days. According to the court, however, the majority of the delay was "largely attributable to the changing of the guard in both the Powell County Attorney's office and the office of the District Court judge." Despite finding a passage of 202 days, which presumably triggers a speedy trial analysis in Montana, the District Court stated that Violette waived his right to a speedy trial by filing the stipulation with the court on April 6, 2007. The District Court nonetheless addressed Violette's argument with respect to whether he suffered prejudice as a result of the delay and determined that it was "sufficiently clear that there has not been the type of prejudice such as would warrant dismissal wherever the burden of proof would properly lie." On September 25, 2007, the District Court committed Violette to DPHHS for ten years with 504 days of credit for the time between his arrest and commitment. Violette appeals.
¶ 10 In a criminal case, the grant or denial of a motion to dismiss is a question of law which we review de novo. State v. Howard, 2008 MT 173, ¶ 8, 343 Mont. 378, 184 P.3d 344. Further, "[o]ur standard of review is plenary, and we determine whether a district court's conclusion is correct." Howard, ¶ 8 (citing State v. Ashmore, 2008 MT 14, ¶ 7, 341 Mont. 131, 176 P.3d 1022).
¶ 11 Violette's primary contention on appeal is that the District Court erred by denying his motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. According to Violette, "[a]ll of the factors recently set forth by this Court in State v. Ariegwe, 2007 MT 204, 338 Mont. 442, 167 P.3d 815, favor dismissal of this case on speedy trial grounds." However, in its response to a supplemental briefing request by this Court on the question of whether Violette was denied his right to a speedy trial under Ariegwe, the State contends that Violette's appeal must be dismissed on the basis that an appeal cannot be taken from a judgment of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. We agree with the State.
¶ 12 Under § 46-20-104, MCA, of Montana's criminal procedure statutes, "[a]n 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." We have previously analyzed this statute in the context of a not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect finding. In State v. Kaplan, 275 Mont. 108, 910 P.2d 240 (1996), the defendant was charged with seven counts of stalking. Thereafter, the defendant moved to dismiss the charges, claiming that Montana's stalking statue was unconstitutional. The court denied the motion and,...
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