Opinion
DA 21-0461
05-03-2022
STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. MELISSA ANN TRAINER, Defendant and Appellant.
ORDER
On September 13, 2021, Defendant and Appellant Melissa Ann Trainer filed a Notice of Appeal in this Court, appealing from the May 24, 2021 Order Granting State's Appeal issued by the Sixth Judicial District Court, Park County, in its Cause No. DV 20-0128. Plaintiff and Appellee State of Montana has moved to dismiss Trainer's appeal pursuant to M. R. App. P. 6(2) and § 46-20-104(1), MCA. The State asserts that Trainer is attempting to appeal from an order which is neither a final judgment of conviction nor an order after a final judgment of conviction that affects Trainer's substantial rights, and as such this is not an appealable order under the applicable statute and appellate rule.
Trainer, via counsel, opposes the State's motion to dismiss. While she admits that the order she seeks to appeal is not a final judgment of conviction, she asserts that the order is appealable because § 46-20-104, MCA "allows a defendant to also appeal orders after judgment which affect substantial rights of the defendant." In this case, the Order at issue is not an order after judgment, as no judgment has yet been entered in this case. Therefore, it is not appealable under § 46-20-104, MCA.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that that the motion to dismiss this appeal is GRANTED, and this appeal is DISMISSED.
The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order to all counsel of record.