Melone v. State

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of David A. Melone’s petition for postconviction relief. The court held that the oral sentence committing Melone to Montana State Prison controlled over inconsistent wording in the written judgment, that the petition was untimely, and that amending the written judgment to conform to the oral sentence was not a resentencing.

Holdings

1. The controlling sentence was the oral sentence pronounced in the defendant's presence, which sentenced Melone to ten years at Montana State Prison; therefore, the statutory limitation on a Department of Corrections commitment did not apply.
2. Melone's postconviction petition was time-barred because it was filed nearly two years after the July 6, 2000 judgment became final, beyond the one-year statutory limitations period.
3. Amending the written judgment to conform to the oral sentence was not a resentencing and did not require Melone's presence.
4. Melone's ineffective-assistance argument lacked merit because identifying the discrepancy earlier would, at most, have resulted in the written judgment being modified to conform to the oral sentence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the District Court erred in denying Melone's petition for postconviction relief because the written judgment allegedly imposed an unlawful ten-year Department of Corrections commitment.
2. Whether the postconviction petition was barred by the one-year limitations period.
3. Whether amendment of the written judgment required Melone's presence at a resentencing hearing.
4. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to identify the discrepancy between the oral sentence and written judgment.

Disposition

affirmed