Court Opinion

ID: 9958825
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-09 22:07:12.525859+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:17:43.736682
License: Public Domain

ORIGINAL
                                                                                           04/09/2024

            IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA                               Case Number: OP 24-0179

                                        OP 24-0179

 JAMES J. MORRISON, JR.,

              Petitioner,
       v.
                                                                     ORDER
 MARK JOHNSON,
 CHIEF DETENTION OFFICER,
 Butte2Silver Bow County Detention Facility,                                     FILED
              Respondent.                                                         APR -9 202/1
                                                                               Bowen Greenwood
                                                                             Clerk of Supreme
                                                                                              court
                                                                                State of Montana

       James J. Morrison, Jr. has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, claiming
illegal incarceration after being detained in the Butte-Silver Bow County Detention Center.
Morrison states that he "was arrested on the 9th day of February 2024 during a routine
weekly scheduled visit with his probation officer . . . ." He states he was detained after "an
alleged positive test for methamphetamineN" Morrison notes that, after a 72-hour hold,
he appeared in Justice Court and was given a copy of an "Authorization to Pick Up and
Hold Probationer" with the incorrect county jail listed, which he includes with his Petition.
He further states he received a copy of the bench warrant thirty-four days after his arrest.
Morrison contends his initial arrest without a warrant was illegal; that he should have a
probable cause hearing; and that he should be immediately released from detention.
       Available electronic records indicate that Morrison entered a guilty plea to sexual
assault on April 4, 2016, in the Butte-Silver Bow County District Court. On January 9,
2017,. the District Court sentenced him to the Montana State Prison for a twenty-year term
with twelve years suspended: Morrison appealed, and upon the parties' stipulation, the
appeal was dismissed and the case was remanded to the District Court to strike certain
language and conditions. State v. Morrison, No. DA 17-0142, Order (Mont. Feb. 14, 2018).
       This Court secured a copy of the recent register of actions. The State sought
revocation of Morrison's suspended sentence on February 16, 2024, supported by affidavit.
The District Court issued a bench warrant with a bond amount of $25,000 on March 13,
2024. The pick up and hold authorization lists Morrison's alleged violations of his
probationary term, including residence, lack of employment, illegal drug use, frequenting
places where minors gather and, significantly, failure to complete sex offender treatment.
       Morrison is not entitled to his immediate release from detention. As a probationer,
Morrison was informed of his probationary conditions and that he is subject to supervision
by the Department .of Corrections under Montana's statutory scheme. Section 46-23-
1011(1), (3), MCA. A probation officer may arrest a probationer without an arrest warrant,
if the officer "reasonably believes that the probationer has violated a condition of
probation[J" Section 46-23-1012(1), MCA. His probation officer reported Morrison's
multiple violations. Morrison was detained and bond was set; the probation officer filed a
report of violation on February 16, 2024, most likely included with the State's affidavit,
and within ten days of his arrest.     Section 46-23-1012(4), MCA. By allegedly not
completing sex offender treatment, Morrison would have committed a non-compliance
violation, which precludes disposition by an informal probable cause hearing. Section 46-
23-1001(2)(e), and 46-23-1015(3)(d), MCA.
      Morrison is not entitled to habeas corpus relief. Section 46-22-101(1), MCA. When
Morrison receives a final judgment for the sentence upon revocation, he has the remedy of
appealing that decision to this Court. M. R. App. P. 4(5)(b)(i); § 46-20-104(1), MCA.
Accordingly,
       IT IS ORDERED that Morrison's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED
and DISMISSED.
       The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to: the Honorable Kurt Krueger,
District Court Judge; Beth Parks, Clerk of Court, Butte-Silver Bow County, under Cause
No. DC-15-27, and to the corresponding counsel of record; Mark Johnson; counsel of
record, and James J. Morrison, Jr. personally.

                                             2
               Yta
DATED this ° I day of April, 2024.

                                       Chief Justice

                                     ue,-"Asas-
                                        Justices

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