Court Opinion

ID: 9916450
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-10 00:06:04.807797+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:27.553269
License: Public Domain

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                                                                                            01/09/2024

            IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA                                Case Number: OP 23-0743

                                          OP 23-0743

MICHAEL JOHN WESTWOLF,

               Petitioner,
       v.
                                                                     ORDER
 DON BELL, SHERIFF,
 LAKE COUNTY DETENTION CENTER,
                                                                                   JAN 0 9 L--i
               Respondent.                                                      Bowe 11 Greenwood

                                                                                 t „.

       Michael John Westwolf has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, stating his
sentence is longer than the law allows, making his incarceration illegal. He requests release
from the Lake County Detention Center in order "to address treatment needs on [his] own."
       The Petition includes a partial copy of Westwolf s sentencing judgments, and the
Court has secured a complete copy to facilitate review. On December 12, 2022, the Lake
County District Court accepted Westwolf s plea of guilty to felony partner or family
member assault, pursuant to a plea agreement, and in exchange for the State's agreement
to dismiss a felony burglary charge. The court committed Westwolf to the DOC for a term
of five years with all but 180 days suspended, and ordered:
       The Defendant is given credit for 180 days in either jail time served and in
       the successful completion of inpatient treatment. Defendant shall have no
       unwanted contact with wife. Defendant shall attend and successfully
       complete 40 hours of the Safe Harbor Batterer's Prevention Program.
       [(Emphasis added.)]

The court also imposed terms and conditions for the suspended portion of the sentence.
       On December 7, 2023, the court revoked Westwolf s suspended sentence and
reimposed the commitment to the DOC for a term of five years, "with a recommendation
for   mental     health,     grief,   power   and   control,   and   chemical     dependency
treatment/counseling." The court repeated, as the first condition: "The Defendant is given
credit for 180 days in either jail time served and in the successful completion of inpatient
treatment." (Emphasis added.) Westwolf offers that, while he remains in the Lake County
Detention Center, he will be sent to NEXUS and pre-release, and then into a sober living
facility. He contends these placements contradict his sentencing judgment.
       The procedural posture of this matter leaves us unable to act on the merits at this
time, for several reasons. The "either and" statement in the judgment makes it facially
unclear to us, without further explanation, whether Westwolf is to receive 180 days of
credit for previous time in jail or if he were to complete inpatient treatment. Habeas corpus
relief is not available to challenge "an order revoking a suspended or deferred sentence,"
§ 46-22-101(2), MCA, but Westwolf s case is still within the 60-day appeal window.
Westwolf could prepare, file, and serve a Notice of Appeal along with a Motion to Appoint
Counsel, and has until February 5, 2024, to do so. M. R. App. P. 4(5)(b)(0.1 Therefore,
       IT IS ORDERED that Westwolf s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is
DISMISSED without prejudice.
       IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this matter is CLOSED as of this Order's date.
       The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to
Michael John Westwolf along with a copy of this Court's Appellate Handbook.
                  Qt\•%
      DATED this I " -day of January, 2024.

                                                .1"

' Further, if the sentence contains a nonconformity that could be remedied under § 46-18-116(2),
MCA, Westwolf s case is still within the 120-day window to seek relief under that provision. A
"factually erroneous" sentence that does not render the sentence illegal may be corrected at any
time. Section 46-18-116(3), MCA.

                                               2
    Justices

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