Opinion ID: 2798655
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The purposes for our writ of habeas corpus

Text: ¶61 We have recognized that “Montana’s guarantee of the privilege of habeas corpus embodies a fundamental, intrinsic principle: the right to challenge the cause of one’s imprisonment.” Lott v. State, 2006 MT 279, ¶ 7, 334 Mont. 270, 150 P.3d 337. Rather than a mere deterrent, the writ is the “birthright of the people” and “one of the most important safeguards of the liberty of the subject.” Lott, ¶ 6. Indeed, our Constitution guards the writ more completely than the Federal Constitution. Compare Mont. Const. art. II, § 19 with U.S. Const. art. I, § 9. Rather than primarily a deterrent to the courts, the writ in Montana is a tool for achieving justice. See Order, Paranteau v. Green 6-7, No. OP 13-0769 (Mar. 4, 2014); Lott, ¶¶ 7, 9, 20. Thus, I cannot say, as the Teague plurality 35 did, that the primary purpose of the writ can readily be served in all cases by merely “apply[ing] the constitutional standards that prevailed at the time the original proceedings took place.” Teague, 489 U.S. at 306, 109 S. Ct. at 1073.