State v. 4th Judicial District

• Court: Montana Supreme Court
• Decided: November 3, 2022
• Docket: OP 22-0623
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

11/03/2022

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: OP 22-0623

OP 22-0623

► STATE OF MONTANA,

Petitioner, NOV 0 3 2022 Bowen Greenwood /7,1Grat Clerk of Supreme Court State of Montana v. ORDER MONTANA FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, MISSOULA COUNTY, HON. JASON MARKS, Presiding,

Respondent.

Petitioner State of Montana seeks a writ of supervisory control directing the Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County, to vacate its August 8, 2022 Order Dismissing DUI 4th Offense (Count 2) and reinstitute that charge in its Cause No. DC-2021-568. In that Order, the District Court dismissed a felony charge of Driving Under the Influence- 4th Offense against Defendant Tamara Lynn Brooks because the court determined that Brooks had two previous DUI convictions and the State improperly counted a pending DUI charge as her "third offense" in order to charge her with a fourth offense here. The court ruled that "the State's ability to stack is statutorily limited to final convictions that exist on the date of the offense charged." The State alleges the District Court erred as a matter of law and that supervisory control is therefore necessary in this case. Having reviewed the Petition and the challenged Order, this Court deems it appropriate to obtain a summary response. Therefore, in accordance with M. R. App. P. 14(7), IT IS ORDERED that the Fourth Judicial District Court, the State of Montana, and Defendant Tamara Lynn Brooks are each granted 30 days from the date of this Order if they wish to prepare, file, and serve a response to the petition for writ of supervisory control. The Clerk is directed to provide immediate notice of this Order to all counsel of record in the Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County, Cause No. DC-2021-568, and the Honorable Jason Marks, presiding. DATED this 3rd day of November, 2022. For the Court,

Al By Justice