Court Opinion

ID: 9511947
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:10:00.877941+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:05:15.218215
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE NELSON
concurs.
¶16 I concur with all that is said in the Court’s Opinion and Order except that in ¶ 12. In my view, there was nothing illegal in the trial court’s sentence prior to the court sua sponte withdrawing Friedt’s guilty pleas, appointing defense counsel-which she had not requested-and setting an omnibus hearing. I was shocked at the prosecutor’s and court’s handling of this matter. While the Billings Municipal Court may be very busy, the “activity” of the omnibus hearings, as the prosecutor describes it, is hardly the fault-or the problem-of defendants appearing before the court. If the prosecutor makes mistakes because of being distracted by negotiations or because he was in another courtroom, then the consequences of his error-or the system’s failure-should not fall on the defendant. Friedt came to court as ordered; she entered a lawful plea after being advised of her rights; she was legally sentenced. She should not, again, be required to repeat this process to undo alleged mistakes made by the State in the first go-around. If the victim is owed damages, then she has civil remedies against Friedt. With that caveat, I concur.