Court Opinion

ID: 9958274
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-08 18:05:05.778019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:18:08.089670
License: Public Domain

j ORIGINAL                                     04/08/2024

            IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
                                                                                     Case Number: DA 24-0180

                                           DA 24-0180

 STATE OF MONTANA,

                Plaintiff and Appellee,

       v.                                                           ORDER

 BRANDON LEE CRAFT,

               Defendant and Appellant.

       Brandon Lee Craft moves this Court for appointment of counsel. He states that
"[c]ounsel nown would be appropriate on this subsequent direct appeal," concerning his
claim of newly discovered evidence regarding jury selection. Craft is incarcerated and
includes a copy of the judgment on appeal.
      On February 23, 2024, the Cascade County District Court denied Craft's motion for
a new trial that originally occurred in November 2019. There is no right to the appointment
of counsel in a postconviction proceeding for relief, although a court may order the
assignment of counsel under the circumstances outlined in § 46-8-104, MCA.
      Craft is not entitled to court-appointed counsel here. Craft represented himself in
the District Court. He has not demonstrated the existence of extraordinary circumstances
to justify appointment of counsel, pursuant to § 46-8-104(3), MCA. Accordingly,
      IT IS ORDERED that Craft's Motion for Appointment of Counsel is DENIED.
      The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to
Brandon Lee Craft with a copy of this Court's Appellate Handbook for reference to the
Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure and access to its forms.
      DATED this           —aay of April, 2024.
                                                  For thc Court,

                FILED
                                                  By
                APR - 8 2024                                   Chief Justice
              Bowen Greenwood
            Clerk of Supreme Court
               State of Montanp