Court Opinion

ID: 9403665
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-21 15:10:28.485735+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:08.518237
License: Public Domain

ORIGINAL                                             06/20/2023

            IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA                                     Case Number: DA 23-0330

                                         DA 23-0330

 STATE OF MONTANA,                                                          JUN 2 0 2023
                                                                         Bowen          ,.nwooa
                                                                       Clerk of St.!_ , ,arne Court
                                                                          State of Montana
             Plaintiff and Appellee,

       v.                                                              ORDER

 CHRISTOPHER JAMES IRVINE,

             Defendant and Appellant.

       Chad Wright, Appellate Defender, petitions for an out-of-time appeal for
Christopher James Irvine from the order entered on March 24, 2023, by the Twentieth
Judicial District Court, Lake County, in Cause No. DC-19-99. The Attorney General's
Office does not object to this motion.
       Wright asserts that Irvine's trial attorney left employment at the Office of Public
Defender (OPD) immediately after the judgment was issued in this case. Irvine contacted
OPD on multiple occasions and indicated his desire to appeal the case, but OPD did not
timely refer the matter to the Appellate Defender Division (ADD) and thus a Notice of
Appeal was not timely filed.
       Wright asserts that it would be unjust to deny Irvine the right to appeal when the
untimeliness of the Notice of Appeal was caused by an error or oversight out of Irvine's
control.
       We grant out-of-time appeals under M. R. App. P. 4(6) when an appellant
establishes the existence of "extraordinary circumstances amounting to a gross miscarriage
of justice," which would exist if we were to deny the petition here.
       IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the petition for an out-of-time appeal is
GRANTED.
       IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Office of Appellate Defender shall have 30
days from the date of this Order within which to prepare, file, and serve a Notice of Appeal
and a Request for Transcripts, if necessary, in compliance with the Montana Rules of
Appellate Procedure.
       The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order to all counsel of record.
       DATED this t.6 day of June, 2023.

                                                               Chief Justice
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                                                                /PI

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