Slavin v. State, 2005 MT 306, 329 Mont. 424

Summary

The Supreme Court of Montana affirmed the denial of Lenorse L. Slavin's petition for postconviction relief. Slavin argued that constitutionally infirm prior partner or family member assault convictions could not support his later felony conviction and sentence. The court held that the claim was nonjurisdictional, was waived by his guilty plea, and was barred because it could have been raised on direct appeal.

Holdings

1. A claim that prior convictions could not support felony treatment of a subsequent PFMA offense concerns the district court's statutory authority to impose the sentence, not its power or capacity to exercise subject matter jurisdiction in the first instance; therefore, the claim is nonjurisdictional.
2. A knowing and voluntary guilty plea waives nonjurisdictional defects and defenses arising before the plea; Slavin therefore waived his challenge to the use of his prior convictions when he pleaded guilty to felony PFMA.
3. Section 46-21-105(2), MCA, barred Slavin's sentencing-related claim because he could have challenged the legality of his sentence on direct appeal but did not do so.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Slavin's claim that his prior PFMA convictions were constitutionally infirm and therefore could not support felony treatment of his 2001 PFMA offense was jurisdictional or instead a nonjurisdictional sentencing claim.
2. Whether Slavin's guilty plea waived the challenge to the prior convictions.
3. Whether Montana's postconviction procedural bar under § 46-21-105(2), MCA, barred the claim because it could have been raised on direct appeal.

Disposition

affirmed