Opinion ID: 884820
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Challenges to the Validity of Hans' Sentence

Text: ¶ 33 In claims 1, 5, and 6, Hans alleges that the District Court made erroneous findings of fact and incorrectly applied the law in sentencing him. Claims 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11 allege that the District Court violated, or that the sentence itself violates, the U.S. Constitution or Montana constitution and statutes. As stated in Part I, in a direct appeal, the defendant is limited to those issues that were properly preserved in the district court, § 46-20-104, MCA, and to allegations that the sentence is illegal or exceeds statutory mandates. Lenihan, 602 P.2d at 1000. Upon reviewing the record, we determine that claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 were not properly preserved for appeal below and do not challenge the legality of the sentence. Thus, they could not have been raised in a direct appeal or an out-of-time appeal. ¶ 34 This Court addressed a defendant's failure to properly preserve sentencing issues for appeal in State v. Nelson (1995), 274 Mont. 11, 906 P.2d 663. In Nelson, the defendant pled guilty to felony assault and appealed his sentence of imprisonment, arguing that the district court failed to properly consider alternatives to incarceration as required by §§ 45-5-201 and -202, MCA, in sentencing nonviolent offenders. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 664, 666. Nelson had not objected below nor had he requested that the court reconsider the matter after it pronounced sentence. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 667. This Court held that because Nelson failed to alert the District Court to its alleged failure to consider alternatives to imprisonment, he was barred by § 46-20-104, MCA, from raising the issue on appeal. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 667. ¶ 35 In this case, Hans claims that the District Court made erroneous findings and conclusions and that it violated applicable statutes and the Montana and U.S. constitutions at sentencing. However, Hans did not object on these bases at sentencing nor did he file a motion for reconsideration or to amend findings in the District Court. Thus, these issues were not properly preserved for appeal. ¶ 36 Further, though Hans claims that he was sentenced in violation of the laws of Montana, the sentence itself is not outside the statutory parameters and, thus, not illegal. We have held that an appellate court may review any sentence imposed in a criminal case, if it is alleged that such sentence is illegal or exceeds statutory mandates, even if no objection is made at the time of sentencing. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 667 (citing Lenihan, 602 P.2d at 1000). This Court's review is limited to questions of legality, and a sentence is not illegal when it is withing the parameters provided by statute. State v. Gunderson (1997), 282 Mont. 183, 936 P.2d 804; see also State v. Goulet (1996), 277 Mont. 308, 921 P.2d 1245; Nelson, 906 P.2d at 667. ¶ 37 For example, in Nelson, we discussed whether the court's failure to consider alternatives to incarceration, as it was required to do by statute, thereby rendered the sentence illegal. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 668. We held that while the court had an affirmative duty to consider certain matter at sentencing, the failure to abide by the statutory requirements, in the absence of an objection, does not render the sentence illegal. Nelson, 906 P.2d at 668. ¶ 38 Likewise, in this case, the sentence imposed did not exceed the statutory maximum for the crime. Hans pled guilty to one count of deliberate homicide, for which he was sentenced to a term of 100 years plus 3 for the use of a dangerous weapon; one count of attempted deliberate homicide, for which he was sentenced to 100 years plus 3 for the use of a dangerous weapon, concurrent; and two counts of aggravated assault, for which he was sentenced to two terms of 10 years plus 2 for the use of a dangerous weapon, concurrent to the sentence on Count I. Each of these sentences was within the statutory mandates. See § 45-5-102(2), MCA (1985) (providing that the offense of deliberate homicide or attempted deliberate homicide shall be punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years); § 45-5-202(3), MCA (1985) (providing that the offense of aggravated assault shall be punishable by imprisonment of a term of not less than 2 years or more than 20 years). Therefore, Hans sentence is not illegal. ¶ 39 Though these issues were not properly preserved and would be barred on appeal, we determine that they are properly brought under the post-conviction relief statute. As stated in part I, under § 46-21-101, MCA, Hans may challenge his sentence on the grounds that it was imposed in violation of the constitution or the laws of this state or the constitution of the United States . . . or is otherwise subject to collateral attack upon any ground of alleged error available under a writ of habeas corpus, writ of coram nobis, or other common law or statutory remedy. . . . Thus, the challenges brought under claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 may be raised in this second amended petition for post-conviction relief.