Pena v. StatePena v. State
¶1 Marcellino Peña (Peña) appeals from the order entered by the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, dismissing his petition for postconviction relief. We affirm.
¶2 The following issue is presented on appeal:
¶3 Did the District Court err in dismissing Peña‘s petition for postconviction relief which alleged that the District Court lacked statutory authority, and thus, subject matter jurisdiction, to sentence Peña to more than five years to the Department of Corrections (DOC)?
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
¶4 Peña was seventeen years old when, on October 31, 1998, he was arrested and charged with deliberate homicide (felony murder) in violation of
¶5 Inside, the men demanded drugs and money. The woman told them she had money in one of the bedrooms and led the three to that room. Upon arriving, two of the men,
¶6 When a vehicle was heard pulling into the driveway, two of the three males, including Peña, broke out a window and crawled out of the house while the third continued to demand oral sex. However, when the homeowner was heard entering the house, the assailant also crawled out of the broken window. Before running away, he yelled “Die, Motherfucker!” and shot and killed the homeowner.
¶7 Responding officers arrested Peña, found the hallucinogenic mushrooms on him, and located Halloween masks, clothing, and one gun in the vicinity of the crime. Witnesses later identified Peña as one of three men running in the area.
¶8 On November 4, 1998, the Yellowstone County Attorney‘s Office obtained leave to file an Information in District Court. On November 5, 1998, the State arraigned Peña in District Court, although Peña was seventeen at the time. Peña objected to the District Court‘s jurisdiction over his case without a removal hearing from youth court. Two weeks later, on November 20, 1998, Peña pled guilty to deliberate homicide (felony murder) and aggravated burglary. The State later dismissed the robbery charge. Peña admitted that he had participated in a burglary and that, after he had left the residence, one of the other participants shot and killed an individual. Under a plea agreement, the State agreed to
¶9 On April 2, 1999, the District Court sentenced Peña to the Montana State Prison as an adult offender for a total of forty-five years: thirty years for the deliberate homicide, and fifteen years for the aggravated burglary, to run consecutively. Peña did not appeal his judgment of conviction or sentence.
¶10 On April 6, 1999, four days after Peña was sentenced in District Court, this Court decided State v. Butler, 1999 MT 70, 294 Mont. 17, 977 P.2d 1000, in which we held that due process requires a hearing before leave to file an Information in District Court can be granted in cases involving a juvenile. On October 25, 1999, Peña filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief alleging that, pursuant to Butler, his due process rights had been violated because the District Court failed to hold a hearing prior to the transfer of his case from Youth Court to District Court. The Yellowstone County Attorney‘s Office conceded that Peña was entitled to a removal hearing as a matter of due process, and the District Court set the matter for a hearing on September 5, 2000.
¶11 On September 13, 2000, the District Court issued findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order granting leave for the State to file the Information against Peña directly in District Court. However, pursuant to a stipulation between Peña and the State, Peña re-entered his guilty pleas and the same sentence was imposed.
¶12 On October 16, 2002, Peña filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief in District Court. The District Court appointed the Montana Appellate Defender‘s Office to represent Peña and ordered the State to respond. On March 5, 2003, through postconviction relief
¶13 On July 14, 2003, the District Court issued an order denying Peña‘s amended petition for postconviction relief on grounds that
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶14 This Court reviews a district court‘s denial of a petition for postconviction relief to determine whether the district court‘s findings of fact are clearly erroneous and whether its conclusions of law are correct. State v. Root, 2003 MT 28, ¶ 7, 314 Mont. 186, ¶ 7, 64 P.3d 1035, ¶ 7 (citing State v. Wright, 2001 MT 282, ¶ 9, 307 Mont. 349, ¶ 9, 42 P.3d 753, ¶ 9).
¶15 Did the District Court err in dismissing Peña‘s petition for postconviction relief which alleged that the District Court lacked statutory authority, and thus, subject matter jurisdiction, to sentence Peña to more than five years to the DOC?
¶16 Peña argues that, pursuant to subpart (e) of
46-21-102. When petition may be filed. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a petition for the relief referred to in
46-21-101 may be filed at anytime within 1 year of the date that the conviction becomes final. A conviction becomes final for purposes of this chapter when:(a) the time for appeal to the Montana supreme court expires;
(b) if an appeal is taken to the Montana supreme court, the time for petitioning the United States supreme court for review expires; or
(c) if review is sought in the United States supreme court, on the date that that court issues its final order in the case.
The State reasons that, under
¶17 Peña responds that, even though he filed his petition beyond the filing deadline established by
¶18 Section 41-5-206(6), MCA, of the Youth Court Act, provides:
41-5-206. Filing in district court prior to formal proceedings in youth court. (1) The county attorney may, in the county attorney‘s discretion, file with the district court a motion for leave to file an information in the district court if:
(a) the youth charged was 12 years of age or older at the time of the conduct alleged to be unlawful and the unlawful act would if it had been committed by an adult constitute:
. . .
(ii) deliberate homicide as defined in
45-5-102 ;. . .
(v) burglary or aggravated burglary as defined in
45-6-204 ;. . .
(6) If a youth is found guilty in district court of any of the offenses enumerated in subsection (1) and is sentenced to the state prison, the commitment must be to the department of corrections . . . .
The offenses listed in subsection (1) of
46-18-201. Sentences that may be imposed. (1) Whenever a person has been found guilty of an offense upon a verdict or a plea of guilty, the court may:
. . .
(e) impose a county jail or state prison sentence as provided in Title 45, for the offense or commit the defendant to the department of corrections for a period not to exceed 5 years for placement in an appropriate correctional facility or program . . . .
Peña contends that the plain language of both
¶19 The time bar was not raised by the State in the District Court. The District Court denied Peña‘s amended petition for postconviction relief on the merits of Peña‘s statutory argument, concluding that the court was at liberty to sentence him as a seventeen-year-old youth in the manner it did. The court reasoned that Peña was actually sentenced to the Montana State Prison, and that the reference in the sentence to the Department of Corrections was simply a necessary transfer of the youth‘s custody to that agency until he reached the age of majority.
¶20 Taking up the timeliness issue, we determine whether Peña‘s challenge to his sentence constitutes a “jurisdictional” claim, whether it is subject to the time limitation of
Subject Matter Jurisdiction vs. Illegal Sentence
¶21 District courts in Montana are granted jurisdiction by the Constitution and by state statute. Article VII, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution provides:
Section 4. District court jurisdiction. (1) The district court has original jurisdiction in all criminal cases amounting to felony and . . . such additional jurisdiction as may be delegated by the laws of the state of Montana. [Emphasis added.]
This Court has previously considered the meaning of the term “jurisdiction” as it relates to district courts. In State ex rel. Johnson v. District Court (1966), 147 Mont. 263, 410 P.2d 933, we defined “jurisdiction” as the “power” or “capacity” of a district court to hear a particular action as well as render a judgment therein:
“Jurisdiction is the power to hear and determine the particular action or proceeding as well as to make such orders and render such judgment therein as the law authorizes in the class of actions or proceedings to which it belongs.” [Quoting State ex. rel. Lay v. District Court (1948), 122 Mont. 61, 70-71, 198 P.2d 761, 766.] . . . “Jurisdiction as applied to courts is the power or capacity given by law to a court to entertain, hear and determine the particular case or matter.” [Quoting State ex rel. Bennett v. Bonner, Governor (1950), 123 Mont. 414, 425, 214 P.2d 747, 753.]
Johnson, 147 Mont. at 267, 410 P.2d at 935. In Hagan v. State (1994), 265 Mont. 31, 873 P.2d 1385, we addressed subject matter “jurisdictional” claims in the context of a sentencing court‘s ability to accept a guilty plea and impose sentence. We defined jurisdictional claims, in that context, as those defined by United States v. Cortez (9th Cir. 1992), 973 F.2d 764. Hagan, 265 Mont. at 36, 873 P.2d at 1388. “Jurisdictional” claims, Cortez held, are “those cases in which the district court could determine that the government lacked the power to bring the indictment at the time of accepting the guilty plea from the face of the indictment or from the record.” Cortez, 973 F.2d at 767 (citing United States v. Broce (1989), 488 U.S. 563, 109 S.Ct. 757, 102 L.Ed.2d 927).
¶23 Here, the sentencing court possessed subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Article VII, Section 4, of the Montana Constitution (“the district court has original jurisdiction in all criminal cases amounting to a felony . . .“), §§
¶24 Therefore, Peña‘s assertion that the District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to impose the sentence he received is more accurately characterized as a claim that his sentence was illegal as exceeding statutory authority. A criminal sentence is “legal” if the sentence is “within the parameters provided by statute.” State v. McLeod, 2002 MT 348, ¶ 12, 313 Mont. 358, ¶ 12, 61 P.3d 126, ¶ 12; State v. Lafley, 1998 MT 21, ¶ 26, 287 Mont. 276, ¶ 26, 954 P.2d 1112, ¶ 26; State v. Goulet (1996), 277 Mont. 308, 312, 921 P.2d 1245, 1247; State v. Nelson (1995), 274 Mont. 11, 18, 906 P.2d 663, 667. “[A] district court‘s authority to impose sentences in criminal cases is defined and constrained by statute.” State v. Yorek, 2002 MT 74, ¶ 15, 309 Mont. 238, ¶ 15, 45 P.3d 872, ¶ 15 (citing State v. Nelson, 1998 MT 227, ¶ 24, 291 Mont. 15, ¶ 24, 966 P.2d 133, ¶ 24). Indeed, “a district court has no power to impose a sentence in the absence of specific statutory authority.” Nelson, ¶ 24 (citing State v. Hatfield (1993), 256 Mont. 340, 346, 846 P.2d 1025, 1029; State v. Wilson (1996), 279 Mont. 34, 37, 926 P.2d 712, 714).
¶25 Peña‘s claim that he received an illegal sentence does not challenge the sentencing court‘s ability to “entertain, hear and determine the particular case or matter,” and, therefore, it is a nonjurisdictional claim for purposes of the postconviction statutes. In light of this conclusion, it is necessary to clarify our holding in State v. Moorman (1997), 279 Mont. 330, 928 P.2d 145, which held that the question of whether a district court possesses the authority to impose a sentence is a “jurisdictional” issue. In Moorman, where the defendant challenged his dangerous offender designation, we concluded that the sentencing court lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” to impose the particular sentence and that
Application of the One-year Postconviction Time Bar
¶26 Section 46-21-102, MCA, provides that “a petition for the relief referred to in
46-21-101. When validity of sentence may be challenged. (1) A person adjudged guilty of an offense in a court of record who has no adequate remedy of appeal and who claims that a sentence was imposed in violation of the constitution or the laws of this state or the constitution of the United States, that the court was without jurisdiction to impose the sentence, that a suspended or deferred sentence was improperly revoked, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law or is otherwise subject to collateral attack upon any ground of alleged error available under a writ of habeas corpus, writ of coram nobis, or other common law or statutory remedy may petition the court that imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside, or correct the sentence or revocation order. [Emphasis added.]
All claims for relief listed herein, including, as highlighted above, challenges to a sentencing court‘s jurisdiction, are incorporated within the time limitation of
¶27 A statutory exception to the postconviction time limit is provided for a claim which “alleges the existence of newly discovered evidence that, if proved and viewed in light of
¶28 The exception to the statutory time bar does not apply in this case. Peña has not asserted that newly-discovered evidence proves he is innocent. See Sanchez v. State, 2004 MT 9, ¶ 12, 319 Mont. 226, ¶ 12, 86 P.3d 1, ¶ 12; State v. Rosales, 2000 MT 89, ¶ 7, 299 Mont. 226, ¶ 7, 999 P.2d 313, ¶ 7;
¶29 Thus, Peña‘s challenge to the sentencing court‘s jurisdiction is time-barred. Though Peña‘s claim is actually nonjurisdictional in nature, that determination does not affect the application of the postconviction time bar. According to the postconviction statutes, both jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional claims must be filed within the time period prescribed by
Postconviction Relief is a “Special Proceeding,” and the Time Bar Therein is “Jurisdictional”
¶30 Peña argues that because the State failed to make the argument in District Court that his claim was time-barred under
¶31 Subpart (1) of
an ordinary proceeding in a court of justice by which one party prosecutes another for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense. Every other remedy is a special proceeding.
27-1-103. Civil and criminal actions. (1) Actions are of two kinds:
(a) civil; and
(b) criminal.
(2) A civil action is prosecuted by one party against another for the enforcement or protection of a right or the redress or prevention of a wrong. Titles 45 and 46 define and provide for the prosecution of a criminal action. When the violation of a right admits of both a civil and criminal remedy, the right to prosecute the one is not merged in the other.
Pursuant to these provisions, this Court has held that various statutory remedies, including driver‘s license reinstatement proceedings, guardianship proceedings and informal probate proceedings, are not “actions,” but rather “special proceedings.” See Neal v. State, 2003 MT 53, ¶ 19, 314 Mont. 357, ¶ 19, 66 P.3d 280, ¶ 19; Matter of Klos (1997), 284 Mont. 197, 201, 943 P.2d 1277, 1279; Deer Lodge County v. Kohrs, 1874 WL 3294, *3 (Mont. Terr.).
¶32 Further, the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure provide that a civil action is initiated by the filing of a complaint:
Rule 2. One form of action. There shall be one form of action to be known as “Civil Action.”
Rule 3. Commencement of action. A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.
Section 46-21-102, MCA, in describing how a postconviction relief proceeding is initiated, states in relevant part: “[A] petition for the relief referred to in
In contrast to the provisions defining a single form of action governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure, including initiation by complaint and the procedural time frame which follows, [the defendant‘s] challenge to the suspension of his license was maintained by the filing of a petition which invoked a specific statutory procedure and time frame distinct from that provided by the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Neal, ¶ 16 (emphasis added). Section 46-21-201, MCA, provides that the Rules of Civil Procedure apply in postconviction relief proceedings only “to the extent that they are applicable and are not inconsistent with” the postconviction relief statutes. Section 46-21-201(1)(c), MCA. We have held, generally, that the Rules of Civil Procedure are not interjected “into other statutory schemes which provide different procedural requirements.” In Re Estate of Spencer, 2002 MT 304, ¶ 13, 313 Mont. 40, ¶ 13, 59 P.3d 1160, ¶ 13; see also Ellenburg v. Chase, 2004 MT 66, ¶ 12, 320 Mont. 315, ¶ 12, 87 P.3d 473, ¶ 12 (“[t]he Rules of Civil Procedure apply to postconviction petitions only if they are consistent with the specific provisions of the postconviction statutes“). With regard to postconviction petitions, we have recently stated that “[u]nlike civil complaints, the postconviction statutes are demanding in their pleading requirements.” Ellenburg, ¶ 12.
¶33 In State v. Placzkiewicz, 2001 MT 254, 307 Mont. 189, 36 P.3d 934, we specifically held that the time limitation in
With respect to postconviction proceedings, the Legislature has set forth a specific statute of limitations at
§ 46-21-102, MCA . . . . We hold that the specific statute of limitations for postconviction proceedings provided in Title46, Chapter 21, controls over other statutes of limitations and the tolling provisions relating to those.
Placzkiewicz, ¶ 19 (emphasis added). Thus, the postconviction time limitations are not subject to other generally applicable tolling provisions, but, rather, are governed by their own procedural requirements.
¶34 Consequently then, postconviction relief is a “special proceeding” governed by the statutes set forth in Title 46, Chapter 21, and is not a civil action governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure.2 The view that a statutory postconviction remedy is a “special proceeding” comports with the holdings of other states. See Nebraska v. Bronson (Neb. 2003), 672 N.W.2d 244, 249 (special proceedings are “every special statutory remedy which is not in itself an action“); Williams v. Iowa (Iowa 1985), 378 N.W.2d 894, 896 (“postconviction relief actions are treated as special proceedings at law“); and Ohio v. La Mar, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 1211 (the civil rules do not apply to “special proceedings“). As the Supreme Court of Ohio has explained:
State collateral review is not itself a constitutional right. . . . Further, a postconviction proceeding is not an appeal of a criminal conviction but, rather, a collateral civil attack on the judgment. . . . Therefore, a petitioner receives no more rights than those granted by statute.
State v. Calhoun (Ohio 1999), 714 N.E.2d 905, 909.
This time limitation is a jurisdictional limit on litigation. . . . A failure to file within the allotted time defeats a court‘s jurisdiction to hear a postconviction claim.
Sanchez, ¶ 9 (citing Maier v. State, 2003 MT 144, ¶ 20, 316 Mont. 181, ¶ 20, 69 P.3d 1194 ¶ 20; State v. Carson, 2002 MT 234, ¶ 13, 311 Mont. 485, ¶ 13, 56 P.3d 844, ¶ 13). Consequently, because the time bar is jurisdictional, it cannot be waived by the State by failing to raise the issue in the District Court. We conclude, therefore, that the State did not waive the time bar issue even though it has raised the issue for the first time on appeal.
¶36 The State also argues that Peña‘s claim is procedurally barred by
(2) When a petitioner has been afforded the opportunity for a direct appeal of the petitioner‘s conviction, grounds for relief that were or could reasonably have been raised on direct appeal may not be raised, considered, or decided in a proceeding brought under this chapter.
¶37 We conclude that because Peña did not challenge the legality of his sentence on direct appeal, it is also procedurally barred by
Conclusion
¶38 Peña has not established that the District Court‘s findings are clearly erroneous or that the court‘s interpretations of law are incorrect. Peña‘s claim that the District Court erred in imposing a forty-five-year sentence is not a “jurisdictional” claim, but, in any event, because jurisdictional and nonjurisdictional claims alike are subject to the time limitation in
¶39 Affirmed.
/S/ JIM RICE
We concur:
/S/ KARLA M. GRAY
/S/ JAMES C. NELSON
/S/ JIM REGNIER
/S/ PATRICIA O. COTTER
/S/ JOHN WARNER
¶40 Although I concur in the result, I dissent as to the Court‘s conclusion that the time bar of
¶41 If, as the Court concludes, the statute is jurisdictional, then it would be absolute in its application since it is axiomatic that subject matter jurisdiction can never be waived. See In re Marriage of Miller (1993), 259 Mont. 424, 427, 856 P.2d 1378, 1380. Unlike a jurisdictional bar, this statute is subject to exceptions and to waiver. There is a statutory exception for a “newly discovered evidence” claim. Section 46-21-102(2), MCA. We have interpreted this exception as encompassing petitions which allege that the defendant is “legally innocent.” See State v. Pope, 2003 MT 330, 318 Mont. 383, 80 P.3d 1232. We have also held that waiver of the time bar is justified by a “clear miscarriage of justice.” State v. Redcrow, 1999 MT 95, ¶ 34, 294 Mont. 252, ¶ 34, 980 P.2d 622, ¶ 34. Other than correctly pointing out that neither exception applies here because Peña does not make a claim that he is actually or legally innocent, the Court fails to discuss the inconsistency of holding that a statutory bar which is subject to exceptions or to waiver is, nonetheless, “jurisdictional.” As noted above, jurisdiction is absolute and cannot be waived.
¶43 As a statute of limitations,
¶44 However, even assuming that the State waived the time bar of
/S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART