Court Opinion

ID: 9393380
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-09 23:04:52.685136+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:52.972187
License: Public Domain

05/09/2023

           IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
                                                                                            Case Number: OP 23-0236

                                         OP 23-0236

 RICHARD GRANT HALL,                                                           MAY 0 9 2023
                                                                            Bowen Greenwood
                                                                          Clerk of Supreme Court
                                                                             State of Montana
              Petitioner,

       v
                                                                        ORDER
 JAMES SALMONSEN, Warden,
 Montana State Prison,

              Respondent.

       Richard Grant Hall petitions this Court for habeas corpus relief, indicating that his
incarceration is illegal because he "was officially charged with only one count of abuse of
children and not a second . . . ." Hall states that, at the time, he asked his counsel whether
it "was legal to add another charge out of thin air to fitlfill a need of plea . . ." and that he
received no answer. Hall contends that some of the paperwork and text messages were
"altered" and that his overall experience with his counsel and the court was frustrating. He
further states that he felt rushed and forced to take a plea to the charges.
       Hall includes one page of the final judgment with his Petition. According to the
document, the State initially charged Hall in December 2021 with six counts—five charges
of felony sexual abuse and one charge of felony sexual abuse of children—for crimes
committed on or about October 1 through November 23, 2021. On August 10, 2022, the
State amended its charges to two counts of sexual abuse of children. The Ravalli County
District Court held a change of plea hearing on that day and Hall entered guilty pleas to the
amended charges.
       Available electronic records indicate that the District Court held a sentencing
hearing on January 18, 2023. The court committed Hall to two concurrent terms of 100
years and imposed a parole eligibility restriction of fifty years. The court awarded credit
for time served.
       Ha11 cannot demonstrate illegal incarceration. He raises claims about the charges,
his plea, and the evidence, which are all issues for a direct appeal, not a petition for habeas
corpus relief. Section 46-22-101(2), MCA. We point out that the State initially charged
Hall with six offenses, so Hall had notice that he was facing more than one count in
December 2021. Furthermore, Hall agreed to the charges and entered a plea agreement.
His challenges come too late and through the wrong remedy. This Court has explained
before that "a defendant waives the right to appeal all nonjurisdictional defects upon
voluntarily and knowingly entering a guilty plea, including claims of constitutional
violations which may have occurred prior to the plea." State v. Pavey, 2010 MT 104, ¶ 11,
356 Mont. 248, 231 P.3d 1104 (quoting State v. Violette, 2009 MT 19, ¶ 16, 349 Mont. 81,
201 P.3d 804). Hall has waived any challenge to the convictions.
       Hall is not entitled to a sentence reduction or habeas corpus relief.           Section
46-22-101(1), MCA. Accordingly,
       IT IS ORDERED that Hall's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED and
DISMISSED.
       The Clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel
of record and to Richard Grant Ha11 personally.
       DATED this 1 —day of May, 2023.
    Justices

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