Opinion ID: 888582
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Rosling's Jury Trial Claims

Text: ¶60 Again, Rosling was convicted under Count I of deliberate homicide, in violation of § 45-5-102(1)(a), MCA. The punishment for this offense is set forth in § 45-5-102(2), MCA, as follows: A person convicted of the offense of deliberate homicide shall be punished by death as provided in XX-XX-XXX through XX-XX-XXX, unless the person is less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, by life imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years, except as provided in XX-XX-XXX and XX-XX-XXX. In addition, § 46-18-202(2), MCA, provides as follows: Whenever the sentencing judge imposes a sentence of imprisonment in a state prison for a term exceeding 1 year, the sentencing judge may also impose the restriction that the offender is ineligible for parole and participation in the supervised release program while serving that term. If the restriction is to be imposed, the sentencing judge shall state the reasons for it in writing. If the sentencing judge finds that the restriction is necessary for the protection of society, the judge shall impose the restriction as part of the sentence and the judgment must contain a statement of the reasons for the restriction. ¶61 Pursuant to these two statutes, the District Court sentenced Rosling on Count I to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In its written judgment, the court provided the following reasons: The Court finds that the defendant should be ineligible for parole, in that this was one of the most brutal and horrific crimes ever seen by this Court. Because of the nature of the offenses, the Court does not believe that the defendant can ever be rehabilitated, and he poses a serious risk to society. ¶62 On appeal, Rosling contends that imposition of the parole-eligibility restriction violated his rights to due process and a jury trial guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and by Article II, Sections 17, 24, and 26 of the Montana Constitution. In addition, he contends that imposition of the restriction contravened § 46-1-401, MCA, which codifies the mandates of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments as construed by the Supreme Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000), and its progeny. ¶63 In Apprendi, the Supreme Court held that [o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S. Ct. at 2362-63. In Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), the Supreme Court clarified that the statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant. Blakely, 542 U.S. at 303, 124 S. Ct. at 2537 (emphasis omitted). In other words, the relevant `statutory maximum' is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings. Blakely, 542 U.S. at 303-04, 124 S. Ct. at 2537. Relying on Apprendi and Blakely, Rosling argues that the parole-eligibility restriction on his sentence is illegal and beyond the District Court's authority because it is based on facts not found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. ¶64 We considered this same issue in State v. Garrymore, 2006 MT 245, 334 Mont. 1, 145 P.3d 946, which was decided after the briefing in this case was completed. Following an analysis of §§ 45-5-102(2) and 46-18-202(2), MCA, we concluded that the statutory maximum punishment for the crime of deliberate homicide when the death penalty is not sought, for the purposes of Apprendi, is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Garrymore, ¶ 32. In other words, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is within the range of punishments authorized by a jury's guilty verdict on a deliberate homicide charge under § 45-5-102(1), MCA. Furthermore, we concluded that this logic applied to both Garrymore's federal constitutional claim and his claim under § 46-1-401, MCA. See Garrymore, ¶¶ 34, 37. ¶65 Likewise, in the case at hand, since the State did not seek the death penalty, the maximum punishment authorized by the jury's verdict of guilty on Count I was life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. For this reason, and based on the analysis set forth in ¶¶ 24-37 of Garrymore, we hold that imposition of the parole-eligibility restriction on Rosling's sentence did not violate his rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and did not contravene § 46-1-401, MCA. ¶66 As for Rosling's claim based on Article II, Sections 17, 24, and 26 of the Montana Constitution, his supporting argument consists of one paragraph in which he points out, correctly, that this Court has applied these state guarantees in a manner which affords more protection that [sic] does the Sixth Amendment. As an example, he cites Woirhaye v. District Court, 1998 MT 320, 292 Mont. 185, 972 P.2d 800, in which we construed Article II, Sections 24 and 26, as affording a greater jury trial right than does the Sixth Amendment. However, Rosling does not explain what greater protectioni.e., what protection over and above the protection afforded by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments as interpreted in Apprendi and its progenyis afforded by Article II, Sections 17, 24, and 26, within the context of this case. Woirhaye, which applied the jury trial right in an entirely different context, does not provide an answer. Thus, as we did in Garrymore, we conclude here that Rosling's argument is too undeveloped to undertake a distinctive application of state constitutional principles, and we will not consider the argument further. See Garrymore, ¶¶ 38-39. ¶67 We hold that the parole-eligibility restriction on Rosling's life sentence is not illegal based on his jury trial claims.