Court Opinion

ID: 9948430
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-06 23:07:01.909221+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:29:40.277252
License: Public Domain

AGINAL                                          03/06/2024

            IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA                                   Case Number: DA 22-0483

                                         DA 22-0483

STATE OF MONTANA,

             Plaintiff and Appellee,
                                                                    AMENDED
      v.
                                                                     ORDER
KEVIN CHARLES WALLA,                                                                  FILED
                                                                                      MAR - 6 2024
             Defendant and Appellant.                                              Bowen Greenwood
                                                                                 Clerk of Supreme
                                                                                                  Court
                                                                                    State of Montana

       Appellant Kevin Charles Walla moves to stay appellate briefing in order to
reconstruct the record of a September 13, 2021 motion hearing and an October 18, 2021
Informal Omnibus Hearing, concerning his requests for a mental health evaluation by a
PTSD expert and a new deadline for disclosing expert witnesses. Walla represents that the
on February 15, 2024, the court reporter notified the District Court and the parties that due to
a recording equipment failure no record of the September hearing was available. The court
reporter filed an affidavit to that effect with this Court on the same date. As to the informal
omnibus hearing, Walla states that no minutes of that hearing are listed on the case register
and that no written record exists beyond the second omnibus order. Walla indicates further
that, without agreeing with his account of the hearings at issue, the State does not object to
Walla's request to move the district court to establish a record of the two hearings in
question.
       M. R. App. P. 8(7) sets forth the procedure for recreating a portion of the record if it is
unavailable. Walla correctly observes that the deadlines in the rule cannot be met here,
because Rule 8(7)(c) requires the moving party to file a motion with the District Court within
fifteen days after filing the notice of appeal. Subsection (b) alternatively permits a joint
written statement and stipulation between the parties, but it must be submitted with the
District Court within thirty days after notice of appeal is filed. Here, Walla filed his Notice
of Appeal on August 25, 2022. The court reporter did not advise of the unavailability of the
September 2021 hearing record until just last month, and Walla submits that there is good
cause to allow his request to proceed regarding both hearings despite the delay.
       Without objection by the State, and good cause appearing,
       IT IS ORDERED that this appeal is STAYED pending the filing of the statement of
unavailable hearing record pursuant to M. R. App. P. 8(7). The District Court retains the
necessary jurisdiction to resolve this issue under M. R. App. P. 8(7)(g). The parties are
directed to proceed in accordance with M. R. App. P. 8(7).
       The Clerk is directed to provide notice of this order to all counsel of record, to the
Clerk of the Sixth Judicial District Court, and to the Hon. Brenda R. Gilbert, presiding judge.
                    IN --
       Dated this kN day of March, 2024.

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