NO. 04-205 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

2005 MT 134 

CITY OF BILLINGS, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, 

TYEREL GARY DILL, 

Defendant and Appellant. 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Thirteenth Judicial District, 

In and For the County of Yellowstone, Cause No. DC 2001-580, 

- Honorable G. Todd Baugh, Presiding Judge 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Jack E. Sands, Attorney at Law, Billings, Montana 

For Respondent: 

' Honorable Mike McGrath, Attorney General; Jon Ellingson, ' Assistant Attoi-ney General, Helena, Montana 

Brent Brooks, City Attorney, Billings, Montana 

Filed: 

Submitted on Briefs: April 6,2005 

Decided: May 3 1,2005 
Justice Jim Rice delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

11 Tyerel Dill (Dill) appeals from the judgment entered by the Thirteenth Judicial District 

Court, Yellowstone County, on December 10,2003, affirming his conviction and sentence 

imposed by the City of Billings Municipal Court. We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. 

72 We address the following issue: 

73 Was the notice of appeal untimely filed, thus precluding the exercise of appellate 

jurisdiction? 

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 

74 In the early morning hours of December 30, 1999, Dill was visiting his mother, 

Bonnie Dill, and her companion, Roger Edwards (Edwards), who were staying at the Billings 

Sheraton Hotel, when an argument arose between Dill and Edwards. Edwards called 

security, and Tracy skins (Askins) of Guardian Security came to the room and told Dill to 

leave. In the process of stepping between Dill and Edwards, Askins claimed he was punched 

in the nose by Dill. Two Sheraton Hotel employees then arrived and escorted Dill out of the 

room, where another dispute arose in the hallway. The security guard and other hotel 

employees attempted to detain Dill until the police arrived, at which time Dill grabbed the 

security guard's pepper spray, and, as a result of the struggle, the cannister discharged in the 

hallway. 

75 Officer Jim Woog (Officer Woog) of the Billings Police Department then arrived, 

encountered the ongoing disturbance in the hallway and tried to de-escalate the situation. 

Officer Woog handcuffed Dill and escorted him down the elevator, through the lobby and 

2 
out the Hotel's front door, at which time Dill spit in Officer Woog's face. Officer Woog then 

forced Dill to the ground and used pepper spray to subdue him. 

76 Dill was originally charged with assault, assault with a bodily fluid, and obstructing 

a police officer, all misdemeanors, resulting from the incident. Dill initially went to trial in 

Billings Municipal Court on June 22 and 23,2000. He was convicted of assault with bodily 

fluid and acquitted of the other two charges. 

77 Dill appealed his conviction to the District Court which ordered a new trial on the 

assault with bodily fluid charge, because of an error in the jury selection process. A second 

trial was held in Billings Municipal Court on May 24,200 1, wherein the jury convicted Dill. 

He again appealed to the District Court, which affirmed his conviction on December 10, 

2003. 

78 On February 12,2004, Dill filed his Notice of Appeal, sixty-three days after the date 

of entry of judgment. 

DISCUSSION 

79 Was tlze notice of appeal zilztii?zelyJiled, tlzus preclzidiizg tlze exercise of appellate 

jurisdiction ? 

710 Rule 5(b), M.R.App.P., defines the time period for filing a notice of appeal in a 

criminal case: "In criminal cases an appeal from a judgment entered pursuant to section 46- 

18-1 16, Montana Code Annotated must be taken within 60 days after entry of judgment 

appealed from." We have held that "[tlhis Court is without jurisdiction to hear an appeal 
filed more than 60 days after judgment." State v. Rice (1 996), 275 Mont. 8 1, 83, 9 10 P.2d 

245,246. 

11 1 Dill appeals from the judgment entered by the District Court in this action on 

December 10,2003. Dill's notice of appeal was filed February 12,2004, sixty-three days 

after the entry of the judgment. 

712 The City of Billings contends Dill's appeal is not timely because he failed to file his 

notice within the sixty-day period provided by Rule 5(b), M.R.App.P., and therefore, this 

Court has no jurisdiction to consider Dill's appeal and must dismiss. In response Dill argues 

his appeal is timely because Rule 21(e), M.R.App.P., allows an additional three days when 

service of a paper is made by mail. Dill argues that because the District Court's order was 

mailed to him, the appeal time was extended by three days. 

- 

y13 Rule 21(e), M.R.App.P., provides as follows: 

Whenever a party is required or permitted to do any act within a prescribed 

period after service of a paper upon such party and the paper is served by mail, 

3 days shall be added to the prescribed period. 

This Court explained the application of this rule in Montana Fair Housing, Inc., v. Barnes, 

2003 MT 16,314 Mont. 73, 68 P.3d 653, holding that: 

Rule 2 1 (e) only applies to situations involving response-type pleadings--that 

is, when parties are required or permitted to file a document or brief after 

having had a brief or paper served upon them. When a filing deadline is 

specified by the Court or when a document is required by Court rule to befiled 

witlzin a specified tirlze, Rule 21(e) does not apply, and the party does not get 

the benefit of an extra three days for mailing. 

Barnes, (IT 4 (emphasis added). 
, 

714 Rule 5(b), M.R.App.P., requires an appeal from a judgment in a criminal case to be 

filed "within a specified time," that is, within sixty days after entry ofjudgment. Barnes, 7 4. 

As a deadline specified by rule, it is not extended by the three-day mailing provision of Rule 

715 Because this appeal was filed more than sixty days after judgment was entered this 

Court is without jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Rice, 275 Mont. at 83, 910 P.2d at 246. 

Jurisdiction can be raised any time, and if the Court does not have jurisdiction because the 

notice was not timely filed, then the Court is obligated to dismiss. Rice, 275 Mont. at 83,85, 

116 Dill had sixty days from the date judgment was entered in which to appeal his 

conviction of assault with bodily fluid. Because Dill .failed to file an appeal within the time 

allotted, this Court has no jurisdiction to hear his appeal. 

71 7 The appeal is dismissed. 

We Concur: 

A 
May 3 1, 2005 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that the attached document was sent by United States mail, prepaid, to the following 

named: 

'JACK E SANDS 

ATTORNEY AT LAW 

100 N 27TH STE 250 

BILLINGS MT 59101 

, HON MIKE MCGRATH ATTORNEY GENERAL 

JON ELLINGSON ASSISTANT 

PO BOX 201401 

HELENA MT 59620- 140 1 

/ BRENT BROOKS 

BILLINGS CITY ATTORNEY 

PO BOX 1 178 

BILLINGS MT 59103-1178 

ED SMITH 

CLERK OF THE SUPREME COURT 

STATE OF MONTANA 

BY: A. Bu&h