Opinion
OP 23-0399
08-08-2023
JARED MATTHEW EVES, Petitioner and Appellant, v. JEFF PFLUG, Montana State Hospital, Respondent and Appellee.
ORDER
Jared Matthew Eves petitions this Court for habeas corpus relief, requesting his immediate release from confinement, reduction of his sentence, and recalculation of his sentence. He is currently placed in the Montana State Hospital. Eves contends that he is due 340 days of credit for time served and not the 334 days awarded. Eves further contends that his incarceration is illegal due to his mistreatment in custody. Eves includes a January 10,2023 e-mail from the Yellowstone County Detection Facility (YCDF) that lists the dates of his detention. He provides no copies of the sentencing judgments. Eves requests "the right lawyer" to assist him.
Available electronic records indicate that Eves had four pending criminal cases, beginning in 2021, in the Yellowstone County District Court. In each matter, the State charged Eves with felony assault on a peace officer; the cases charged several additional misdemeanor offenses. Through counsel, Eves entered into a plea agreement agreeing to plead guilty to assault on a peace officer in each of the four cases in exchange for a recommended sentence and dismissal of the other charges.
In open court on July 29, 2022, and in accordance with the parties' recommended sentence, the District Court committed Eves to the Department of Public Health and Human Services to a ten-year term with five years suspended (first sentence). The court awarded' credit for time served of 142 days: August 12, 2021, through October 7, 2021; November 6,2021, through December 31,2021, and June 28,2022, through July 29,2022. Also on that day, the court committed Eves to the Department of Public Health and Human Services for a ten-year term with five years suspended, to run concurrently with his first sentence (second sentence). The court awarded 134 days of credit for time served from March 17, 2022, through July 29, 2022. On August 23, 2022, the court issued two orders for the remaining two criminal cases, dismissing the cases without prejudice (Cause Nos. DC 21-1317 and DC 22-0003).
Eves's e-mail from the YCDF shows that Eves was detained from: July 18, 2021-July 18, 2021 (one day); August 12, 2021-October 7, 2021; October 15, 2021-December 3 b, 2021, and January 2, 2022-July 29, 2022. Upon review, we observe that Eves was not incarcerated the entire time and that he was released at various points during 2021 and 2022.
We look to the date of the offense or arrest. For Eves's first sentence, the charging document or Information states that Eves committed the offense of assault on a peace officer on August 12, 2021, when Eves resisted his arrest for other misdemeanor offenses. This date aligns with the commencement of his credit for time served, beginning August 12, 2021, reflected in both the judgment and the e-mail, and ending on the date of sentencing. For Eves's second sentence, the State noted that Eves committed the felony offense on March 17, 2022, while in the YCDF. The District Court commenced his credit to begin on that date as well. We conclude that Eves has received all the credit he is due for time served.
Eves is not entitled to habeas corpus relief. Section 46-22-101(1), MCA. He is not entitled to his immediate release, a reduction in his sentence, or a sentence recalculation. We point out that his concurrent sentences merge and run together under Montana law.
Eves is not due the 340 days of credit for time served because any credit prior to the August 12, 2021 date would be related to the other two criminal cases that the District Court later dismissed, pursuant to the global plea agreement. Section 46-18-401(4), MCA; State v. Tracy, 2005 MT 128, ¶ 28, 327 Mont. 220, 113 P.3d 297 (superseded by statute).
Finally, though Eves complains about his treatment in custody, a writ of habeas corpus is not the remedy for constitutional claims, such as due process, double jeopardy, or conditions of confinement. See Gates v. Missoula Cty. Comm'rs, 235 Mont. 261, 262, 766 P.2d 884, 884 (1988) (The statute for habeas corpus relief "allows a prisoner to challenge the legal sufficiency of the cause for incarceration.") (Emphasis in original). This Court cannot consider Eves's claims of constitutional violations through this writ.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Eves' Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED and DISMISSED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that his request for appointment of counsel is DENIED, as moot.
The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to Jared Matthew Eves personally.