Court Opinion

ID: 9538716
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:40:33.488673+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:58:06.930215
License: Public Domain

ME. JUSTICE CASTLES,
dissenting:
I dissent. Upon a plea of guilty to attempted rape of his own. eleven year old stepdaughter, a mature, educated, intelligent man, holding a responsible jqb, after having advice of his *520rights, was sentenced to twenty years. Now, almost four years later, after evidence and the possibility of a successful retrial has likely been lost, a technical defect in the record is used as a basis for an order granting a retrial or release on habeas corpus. What I have referred to as a technical defect in the record is made even more obnoxious to my sense of justice since the following two matters appear to me.
First, it is within our judicial knowledge, as evidenced by the Chief Justice’s reports and requests to the Montana Judges Association, that in past years, prior to the recent Federal Court decisions in this field, complete verbatim records of arraignments and preliminary matters as well as verbatim records of the sentencing were not kept. Secondly, in this particular case the Court Reporter, who took what record was taken, did not transcribe his own notes; and it is recognized by all parties that the attempted transcription is plainly erroneous in some particulars. Therefore, in view of the time lapse and other attendant circumstances, I would indulge in the statutory presumption that legal duty had been performed. The District Judge involved here is the veteran trial judge in Montana, long known for his careful judicial work. Additionally, these same circumstances indicate that the defendant waived any rights he might have had. I find myself unable to go along in the decision of the majority.