Opinion ID: 2229974
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether deserly should be credited with time served in montana.

Text: When the Montana court sentenced Deserly it specified that his Montana sentence was to be served concurrently with any sentence he was serving in South Dakota. Deserly had spent approximately one year in the Montana jail before he learned that South Dakota was not crediting him for time he was serving in Montana. This discovery prompted Deserly to request to be returned to South Dakota. This transfer process took six months. Deserly argues that South Dakota should credit him for the time he served in Montana, both before and after he made the request for transfer. Deserly's first argument is that when one state puts a hold on a prisoner in another state, the prisoner is effectively serving time for each state. See e.g., People v. Ranson, 153 Mich.App. 157, 395 N.W.2d 271 (1986). We are not persuaded by the analysis applied in Ranson because we agree with the Iowa Supreme Court's observation that it constitutes a novel rule which would allow a sentenced criminal, by the simple expedient of escape, to select the state in which he wishes to serve his incarceration. Williams v. State, 280 N.W.2d 406, 408 (Iowa 1979). Second, Deserly notes that the Montana court ordered his sentences were to be served concurrently. South Dakota was not a party to that action and did not assent to any determination that the South Dakota sentence should be served concurrently with the Montana sentence. Clearly, that was a proviso relevant only to the Montana courts. The Montana court did not and could not order South Dakota to give Deserly credit for time served in Montana. See Nelson v. George, 399 U.S. 224, 90 S.Ct. 1963, 26 L.Ed.2d 578 (1970). See also, Patino v. State, 331 N.W.2d 837 (S.D.1983). Deserly had spent a year in Montana prison before he inquired of officials at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. He formally requested a transfer to South Dakota when he learned that he was not being credited for the time he was serving in Montana. The transfer process took six months. Deserly contends that he should receive credit in South Dakota from the date of his application for transfer. As authority he cites Chalifoux v. Commissioner of Correction, 375 Mass. 424, 377 N.E.2d 923 (1978). Chalifoux escaped from a Massachusetts prison where he was serving time for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested and convicted in California for kidnapping. The California court sentenced him to one to twenty-five years in jail and specified that the sentence should be served concurrently with his Massachusetts sentence. Chalifoux requested to be returned to Massachusetts and asked Massachusetts to credit him for the time he had already served in the California prison. Massachusetts denied the request for transfer on grounds of prison overcrowding. Massachusetts also denied Chalifoux's request for credit for the time he was serving in California, but did not inform him of its decision. Chalifoux remained incarcerated in California and assumed he was being credited in Massachusetts. He did not learn otherwise until he was taken into custody by Massachusetts officials upon his release from the California prison. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that fundamental fairness required that Chalifoux be given credit for the time he served in California. Because Massachusetts had not informed him that they were not giving him credit, Chalifoux remained in California prison, assumed he was being credited in Massachusetts, and did not request other possible forms of relief from the Massachusetts courts. Deserly cannot claim any denial of fundamental fairness. He served approximately one year in Montana prison before he even inquired whether South Dakota was giving him credit for the time he was serving in Montana. South Dakota immediately informed him he was not. Deserly asked to be returned to South Dakota and the transfer process took six months. There is no evidence that the transfer was unnecessarily delayed. Deserly was not treated unfairly by South Dakota officials and must take responsibility for his own inaction on this issue. The habeas court is affirmed. SABERS, J., concurs. WUEST, J., concurs specially. HENDERSON, J., concurs in part and dissents in part. AMUNDSON, J., disqualified.