Opinion
OP 24-0020
01-30-2024
JENNIFER BRICK, Petitioner, v. HONORABLE JUDGE BRYAN ADAMS, Respondent.
ORDER
Representing herself, Jennifer Brick has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and contends that she is suffering under "excessive Pretrial Restraint Condition of a GPS Monitor[.]" She requests that she "be moved to level 1 Pretrial Status."
Brick explains that this writ is related to two pending misdemeanor cases in Justice Court (TK 23-4149 and TK 23-2961). Brick, however, asserts that the "Gallatin County District Court has incorrectly applied pre-trial release conditions per § 46-9-108, MCA, and § 46-9-109, MCA." She further explains that she has been involved in a dissolution proceeding in the District Court and that she has been wearing a monitor for more than five months. She states that the court ordered a "gps monitor and a $20,000 bond ... due to one alleged 'violation of an order of protection,' regarding one accidental, canceled before contact, electronic communication." She adds that she has attended all court dates and that she is not a flight risk. Brick alleges she has suffered from "psychological torture" related to wearing of the monitor and lists the subsequent harm it has caused her. She concludes that the monitor is an excessive restraint. She requests credit for time served for wearing this GPS monitor, removal of the monitor, and that she be moved to level 1 Pretrial Status.
Montana's statute for habeas corpus relief provides that a court may inquire into the cause of restraint or incarceration to determine its illegality. Section 46-22-101(1), MCA. Section 46-22-103, MCA, provides that:
When a person is imprisoned or detained in custody on any criminal charge for want of bail, the person is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus for the purpose of giving bail upon averring that fact in the person's petition, without alleging that the person is illegally confined.
A petitioner must show in a habeas corpus proceeding that a bail has not been set. Here, the court set bail as well as imposed the condition of GPS.
We point out that Brick is not incarcerated and that the remedy of habeas corpus is limited here. This Court has determined that a district court has the discretion to grant or deny release and bail as well to set conditions. Grafft v. Mont. Fourth Judicial Dist. Ct., 2021 MT 201, ¶ 11, 405 Mont. 192, 492 P.3d 1213. Any constitutional claims are not remedied by a writ of habeas corpus. Gates v. Missoula County Comm 'rs, 235 Mont. 261, 262, 766 P.2d 884, 884-85 (1988). Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that Brick's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED and DISMISSED.
The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to: the Honorable Bryan Adams, Justice Court; Audrey Cromwell, Clerk of Justice Court, under Cause Nos. TK 23-4149 and TK 23-2961; Henry Westesen, Gallatin County Attorney's Office; counsel of record, and Jennifer Brick personally.