No. 93-412 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1993 

STATE OF MONTANA, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Thirteenth Judicial District, 

In and for the County of Yellowstone, 

The Honorable William J. Speare, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Rudy Stanko, Pro se, Laurel 

For Respondent: 

Hon. Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General, 

Helena 

Dennis Paxinos, County Attorney; John Kennedy, 

Deputy County Attorney, Billings 

Filed: 

Submitted on Briefs: November 18, 1993 

Decided: December 6, 1993 
Chief Justice J. A. Turnage delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

The Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, 

dismissed defendant Rudy Stanko's (Stanko's) appeal from a Justice 

Court proceeding on the grounds that the appeal was premature and 

the District Court was therefore without jurisdiction. Stanko 

appeals. We affirm. 

The issue is whether a person alleged to have committed a 

misdemeanor may appeal from a justice court proceeding prior to the 

justice court's final adjudication. 

Stanko was charged with acting as an agent for a livestock 

dealer without a license, a misdemeanor in violation of 5 81-8-271, 

MCA. Yellowstone County officials served him with a complaint and 

arraigned him on that offense. Following the Justice Court's 

denial of Stanko's motion to dismiss the charge, Stanko appealed to 

the District Court. 

The District Court ordered the appeal dismissed and returned 

the case to the Justice Court. Stanko appeals from the District 

Court's order. 

May a person alleged to have committed a misdemeanor appeal 

from a justice court proceeding prior to the justice court's final 

adjudication? 

The right to appeal from justice court is purely statutory. 

State v. Barker (Mont. 1993), 858 P.2d 360, 363, 50 St.Rep. 970, 

972. Section 46-17-311(2), MCA, clearly states that a person may 

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appeal a justice court decision after a final judgment has been 

entered. See also 5 46-20-104, MCA (judgment must be final before 

appeal). A judgment is defined as "an adjudication by a court that 

the defendant is guilty or not guilty, and if the adjudication is 

that the defendant is guilty, it includes the sentence pronounced 

by the court.It Section 46-1-202(10), MCA. 

District courts are without jurisdiction to hear an appeal of 

a justice court decision until after a final judgment has been 

entered by the justice court. State v. Todd (1993), - P.2d -, 

50 St.Rep. 1466; State v. Hegeman (1991), 248 Mont. 49, 808 P.2d 

509. Appeals taken prior to final adjudication and sentence in 

justice court are premature; properly, the district court must 

dismiss the appeal and remand the case back to justice court. 

State v. Wilson (1992), 252 Mont. 264, 827 P.2d 1286. 

We therefore conclude that the District Court did not err in 

denying Stankols appeal from justice court. Affirmed. 

Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(C), Montana Supreme Court 

1988 Internal Operating Rules, this decision shall not be cited as 

precedent and shall be published by its filing as a public document 

with the Clerk of this Court and by a report of its result to the 

West Publishing Company. 

" /chief Justice < 
We concur: 

/