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No. 99-652 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
2001 MT 48N
STATE OF MONTANA Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. TY BRADFORD, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Eighteenth Judicial District, In and for the County of Gallatin, The Honorable Mike Salvagni, Judge presiding.
COUNSEL OF RECORD: For Appellant: William F. Hooks, Appellate Defender Office, Helena, Montana For Respondent: Joseph P. Mazurek, Montana Attorney General, Mark W. Mattioli, Assistant Montana Attorney General, Helena, Montana; Marty Lambert, Gallatin County Attorney, Gary Galaz, Deputy Gallatin County Attorney, Bozeman, Montana Submitted on Briefs: February 16, 2001 Decided: March 20, 2001
Filed:

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Clerk Justice James C. Nelson delivered the Opinion of the Court. ¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court 1996 Internal Operating Rules, the following decision shall not be cited as precedent. It shall be filed as a public document with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and shall be reported by case title, Supreme Court cause number and result to the State Reporter Publishing Company and to West Group in the quarterly table of noncitable cases issued by this Court. ¶2 Ty Bradford (Bradford) was charged by information in Montana's Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, with three counts of partner or family member assault and two counts of felony assault. He was found not guilty at trial of two counts of partner or family member assault, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the other partner assault charge, and he was convicted on both counts of felony assault. Following his trial, Bradford wrote a letter to the District Court alleging that the 911 tape used as evidence by the State had somehow been tampered with, and that defense counsel had "dropped the ball." On appeal Bradford contends that this letter should have been construed as a motion for a new trial, and that the court should have conducted an inquiry into the validity of Bradford's negative comments regarding his counsel. We affirm. ¶3 The issues on appeal are: ¶4 1. Whether the letter sent by Bradford to the District Court should be considered a motion for a new trial; and ¶5 2. Whether the District Court was required to inquire further regarding Bradford's complaint about his counsel. BACKGROUND ¶6 Bradford and his companion Dixie Brown (Brown) had a contentious relationship leading to physical altercations in March of 1999. During the course of the last altercation, Bradford dialed 911, according to his testimony, to show Brown that he was serious about his demand that she vacate the apartment they shared. Bradford hung up the phone before speaking with the 911 operator. The operator then immediately called the number back. Brown answered the phone, and alleged, among other things, that Bradford had threatened

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. . . MR. BALAZ (the prosecutor): I had it (the 911 tape) made at Mr. Williams' request and just gave it to him and never listened to it myself. That's what I need to do. THE COURT: Well, you - I expect that you trust what the 911 operator ordered and gave to you?
MR. BALAZ: To a 95% degree of certainty. (Emphasis added). ¶17 In the context of this discussion, there was no indication of nefarious intent by any party to alter the tape to Bradford's disadvantage, contrary to Bradford's statement in his letter to the court following his conviction. At this juncture, the record reflects that Bradford had already listened to the tape, whereas the State had not. The record reveals that the court advised both parties that if there was a problem with the tape after listening to it that "we'll have to deal with it." Neither party took issue with the tape at any point in the proceedings, even when it was later played for the jury. ¶18 At the time the court received Bradford's letter, the court had the full benefit of hindsight, in that all the evidence had been presented at trial and heard by the court. No

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¶23 The court acted appropriately when it responded to Bradford's letter; forwarded the letter to all counsel of record; and stated that the court would act upon receipt of a formal filing. Bradford chose not to pursue the matter further. The District Court did not abuse its discretion and did not err when it declined to inquire in any greater detail into Bradford's complaints regarding counsel in his post-trial letter. ¶24 Affirmed. /S/ JAMES C. NELSON We Concur: /S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART /S/ PATRICIA COTTER /S/ TERRY N. TRIEWEILER 1. The 1997 version of § 46-16-702, (MCA), is applicable to these proceedings. This statute was amended by the 1999 Legislature but the amendments did not become effective until October 1, 1999. See , Sec. 1, ch. 301, L.1999.

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