Summary
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Clifford W. Millegan’s motion for credit toward his sentence for time served on probation. The court held that the challenge was not time-barred as an alleged illegal sentence, but concluded that due process and equal protection claims were not preserved and that the double-jeopardy argument lacked supporting authority. The decision was designated noncitable precedent.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Millegan's challenge to the sentence was time barred under Montana Code Annotated § 46-18-117 (1991).
- Whether the denial of credit for probation time served violated double-jeopardy protections.
- Whether the denial violated due process or equal protection, insofar as those issues were preserved for appellate review.
Holdings
- The motion was not time barred because Millegan challenged the legality of his sentence, and an illegal sentence could be challenged at any time under § 46-18-117, MCA (1991).
- The court could not consider Millegan's due-process and equal-protection arguments because he failed to raise them in the District Court.
- The court declined to reach the merits of the double-jeopardy claim because Millegan cited no authority supporting his conclusory argument and therefore failed to satisfy the appellate briefing requirement.
Key quotations
“Thus, if Millegan had argued that his sentence was illegally imposed, his claim would have been time barred for failing to file within 120 days of the imposition of his sentence. However, according to the statute, illegal sentences may be challenged at any time.” (¶ 10)
“Conclusory statements are insufficient to sustain an issue for the Court’s consideration.” (¶ 12)
Factual background
Millegan was convicted of burglary and criminal mischief and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment with five years suspended on the burglary count, plus a concurrent ten-year term for criminal mischief. After his status changed from parole to probation, he was charged with seven misdemeanors and pleaded guilty to three under a plea agreement. The District Court revoked his suspended sentence, imposed a five-year commitment, and denied credit for time served on probation because of the probation violations.
Procedural history
Millegan was convicted of burglary and criminal mischief in 1993 and received a sentence including a suspended term. After he committed additional offenses while on probation, the District Court revoked the suspended sentence and committed him to the Department of Corrections for five years without credit for probation time served. More than six months later, he moved for credit, but the District Court denied the motion. The Montana Supreme Court affirmed.