Swan Delavergn Smith v. State of Montana

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Swan Delavergn Smith’s petition for post-conviction relief. The court held that Smith’s challenge to Montana’s prohibition on using intoxication to contest mental state was procedurally barred because it could have been raised on direct appeal and was not properly preserved in the trial court.

Holdings

1. Montana Code § 46-21-105(2) bars postconviction review of claims that could have been raised on direct appeal, including issues that were not properly preserved at the trial level.
2. A vague statement that a statute violated due process because it inhibited the defendant's right to present a defense did not specifically preserve claims under Article II, Sections 3 and 4 of the Montana Constitution.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Smith's Montana constitutional challenge to Montana Code § 45-2-203 was procedurally barred because it could have been raised on direct appeal.
2. Whether Smith's general trial-court assertion that the statute violated due process and inhibited his right to present a defense preserved a challenge under Article II, Sections 3, 4, and 24 of the Montana Constitution.

Disposition

affirmed