Background

• Ferris charged with felony distribution of dangerous drugs for selling hydrocodone to an undercover informant using an informant-worn body wire; monitoring occurred without a warrant.
• Ferris pled guilty to felony criminal distribution of dangerous drugs after notice that he might be treated as a persistent felony offender; he signed a plea waiver acknowledging voluntariness and understanding.
• A written plea agreement provided that a guilty plea could not be withdrawn; the State agreed to a ten-year sentence with five years suspended and to not seek PF0 designation, plus concurrent sentencing with a prior conviction.
• At the change-of-plea hearing, Ferris expressly stated voluntary guilty plea and understanding of rights; the court accepted the plea and sentenced Ferris under the agreement.
• Goetz (decided after Ferris’s plea) held that electronic monitoring of conversations without a warrant requires a warrant; Goetz issue was not raised at sentencing.
• Ferris later moved to withdraw the plea to suppress Goetz-related evidence; the district court denied the motion, and Ferris appealed.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• State v. Andrews, 357 Mont. 52, 236 P.3d 574 (2010 MT 154) (plea is governed by law at time of acceptance; post-decision changes not good cause to withdraw)
• Reichmand v. State, 243 P.3d 423 (2010 MT 228) (retroactivity of new criminal-procedure rules; supports retroactive application for post-plea issues)
• State v. Goetz, 191 P.3d 489 (2009 MT 296) (required warrant for electronic monitoring of informant in home; crucial to Goetz claims)
• State v. Foster-DeBerry, 197 P.3d 1004 (2008 MT 397) (requiring objecting to verdict to gain retroactive benefit; precedential for intervention on appeal)
• State v. Tweed, 59 P.3d 1105 (2002 MT 286) (reversal preference on good-cause questions; trial on the merits favored)
• State v. Egelhoff, 900 P.2d 260 (1995 MT 15) (retroactivity principles for new criminal-procedure rules)