State v. Brown

1999 MT 339, 993 P.2d 672, 297 Mont. 427, 56 State Rptr. 1346, 1999 Mont. LEXIS 350
Montana Supreme Court·Decided December 29, 1999·No. 99-426·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinions

CHIEF JUSTICE TURNAGE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Following his conviction of two counts of felony assault on a peace officer, Larry K. Brown appeals. We affirm the judgment of the Fifth Judicial District Court, Jefferson County.

¶2 The issues are:

[428]*428¶3 1. Did the trial court improperly deny Brown’s motion to dismiss on due process grounds for failure to hold a probable cause hearing within 48 hours of Brown’s arrest?

¶4 2. Did the trial court prejudice the jury panel by its reference to the failure of Kirk Brown, Larry Brown’s brother and co-defendant, to appear for trial?

¶5 3. Did the trial court improperly allow prospective Juror No. 14 to stay on the jury panel, necessitating the use of a peremptory challenge by the defense?

¶6 Larry K. Brown was arrested on the night of Friday, February 13, 1998, at a bar brawl in Boulder, Montana. He was initially held in the county jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond set by the Jefferson County Justice of the Peace. On Tuesday, February 17, the Justice of the Peace ordered that Brown be released by 5:00 p.m. because no complaint or citation had yet been filed against him. Brown was released, but he was immediately rearrested pursuant to a District Court warrant on two counts of assaulting a peace officer, pursuant to § 45-5-210, MCA. The charges were based on allegations that Brown had kicked one police officer in the head and stomped on another officer’s arm while they attempted to arrest him at the bar brawl.

¶7 Brown’s trial was joined with the trial of his brother, Kirk Brown, on charges arising out of the same incident. A joint trial was set for September 1998, and a jury panel was drawn. Brown and his attorney appeared in court on the date set for trial; Kirk Brown did not appear. At that time, the following colloquy occurred:

THE COURT: Okay, members of the jury, we’re here to try a criminal case, State of Montana against Larry K. Brown and State of Montana against Kirk L. Brown. Are the defendant-Is the State ready for trial?
MS. WILSON: Judge, the State is ready for trial.
THE COURT: And the Defendant?
MR. SHEEHY: The Defendant Larry Brown is ready for trial Your Honor. Mr. Kirk Brown is not here.
THE COURT: So, Larry Brown is not here. Can we go ahead and try Kirk?
MR. SHEEHY: Larry is here, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Oh, Larry’s the one that’s here. Kirk’s not here.
MR. SHEEHY: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: What are the circumstances about him?
[429]*429MR. SHEEHY: It’s my understanding, Your Honor, that he was in the State of Washington and was on his way back here. At least that was the information I received, that he was catching a ride back about 7:30 or 8:30 last night and he’s not arrived.
THE COURT: And you haven’t heard from him.
MR. SHEEHY: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, all right. Folks, I want you all to stand up and the clerk is going to swear you.

¶8 During jury selection, the prosecuting attorney, Wilson, noted that she was acquainted with prospective Juror No. 14 and that the prospective juror’s grandson would be a minor witness in the case. Wilson asked prospective Juror No. 14 if she thought this would make it difficult for her to sit on the jury. The juror responded that she thought it would.

¶9 The District Court then cut in:

THE COURT: Well, I don’t think it would. You can sit and listen to the testimony of all the witnesses and the exhibits and give the Court and other jurors a good and fair judgment of this matter; can’t you?
JUROR NO. 14:1 hope so.
THE COURT: Well, I know you can.
MS. WILSON: You think you can be fair?
JUROR NO. 14:1 think, under the circumstances, I could beings I did not know too much about this beforehand.
MS. WILSON: Before today, okay. And you don’t have any knowledge of any of the facts that will be presented today.
JUROR NO. 14: No, I don’t.
THE COURT: And you certainly don’t know these Defendants.
JUROR NO. 14: No, I don’t.
MS. WILSON: Okay.
THE COURT: Okay.

The defense subsequently used one of its peremptory challenges to disqualify Juror No. 14.

¶10 Following a one and one-half day trial, the jury convicted Brown of the charges against him. Based upon that conviction, Brown’s past criminal history, his denial of responsibility, and his apparent lack of remorse, the court sentenced him to five years in prison on each count, to be served concurrently.

[430]*430Issue 1

¶ 11 Did the trial court improperly deny Brown’s motion to dismiss on due process grounds for failure to hold a probable cause hearing within 48 hours of Brown’s arrest?

¶12 As indicated above, Brown was arrested and jailed on Friday night, February 13,1998. On Saturday, February 14, the arresting officer prepared an affidavit of probable cause for Brown’s continued detention, which was then notarized by the Jefferson County Justice of the Peace. Monday, February 16,1998, was a federal and state holiday. A motion for leave to file information was filed in the District Court and a bench warrant for Brown’s arrest was issued on Tuesday, the 17th of February. Brown’s initial appearance was delayed for one day to accommodate the filing of felony charges in District Court. The information was filed on Wednesday, February 18, when Brown also made his initial appearance and was arraigned.

¶13 In arguing that no timely probable cause hearing was held, Brown refers to County of Riverside v. McLaughlin (1991), 500 U.S. 44, 111 S.Ct. 1161, 114 L.Ed.2d 49. In that case, the Court held:

Where an arrested individual does not receive a probable cause determination within 48 hours,... the arrested individual does not bear the burden of proving an unreasonable delay. Rather, the burden shifts to the government to demonstrate the existence of a bona fide emergency or other extraordinary circumstances. The fact that in a particular case it may take longer than 48 hours to consolidate pretrial proceedings does not qualify as an extraordinary circumstance. Nor, for that matter, do intervening weekends. A jurisdiction that chooses to offer combined proceedings must do so as soon as is reasonably feasible, but in no event later than 48 hours after arrest.

County of Riverside, 500 U.S. at 57, 111 S.Ct. 1161. Brown also refers to the provisions of §§ 46-11-101 and -110, MCA, as to the determination of probable cause. He asserts that the combined effect of these statutes requires that, in Montana, a complaint must be filed and approved by a court for there to be a judicial determination of probable cause; and that under

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State v. Brown, 1999 MT 339, 993 P.2d 672, 297 Mont. 427, 56 State Rptr. 1346, 1999 Mont. LEXIS 350 (Mo. 1999).

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