Opinion
OP 22-0111
03-29-2022
ARTHUR PEOPLES, Petitioner. v. CAPTAIN JASON KOWALSKI, Respondent.
ORDER
Arthur Peoples has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, indicating that his incarceration is illegal because the Department of Corrections (DOC) violated his due process rights when they revoked his conditional release. Peoples is currently being held in the Missoula County Detention Facility.
Peoples provides that when his sentence was revoked on November 30, 2018, he received a four-year and three-month sentence to the DOC. See also State v. Peoples, 2022 MT 4, ¶ 9, 407 Mont. 84. 502 P.3d 129. Peoples states that he received a conditional release on August 28, 2019. However, Peoples adds that he was charged in Missoula County with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs a year later and currently is in jail. Although the Missoula County District Court granted him release on his own recognizance, he is being held on a DOC hold.
Peoples presents three main arguments which we summarize as follows; (1) the DOC violated his due process rights in its disciplinary hearing and when it revoked his conditional release; (2) that he has been held in jail for more than 17 months when the Hearings Officer found him not guilty of a non-compliance violation, but guilty of two compliance violations; and (3) his conditional release was illegally revoked because the DOC did not adhere to the Montana Incentives and Interventions Guide (MUG).
Preliminarily, this Court has explained the difference between compliance and noncompliance violations. ''Most violations are categorized as compliance violations and cannot result in an automatic revocation of a deferred or suspended sentence but must be addressed utilizing the MUG procedures. Section 46-18-203(8)(a), MCA. However, noncompliance violations can result in a direct revocation and are not subject to the MUG procedures. Section 46-18-203(7)(a)(iii), MCA." Stale v. Fjelsted, 2020 MT 278, f 11, 402 Mont. 46, 475 P.3d 387. Here, Peoples has a new felony offense and would, therefore, not be entitled to have the MUG applied. Section 46-23-1015(3)(d), MCA.
Most importantly, "[a] conditional discharge may be revoked if, within the time remaining on the sentence that was conditionally discharged, the individual ... is charged with a new felony offense[.]" Section 46-23-1020(2)(a), MCA. Pursuant to this provision, Peoples's conditional release was legally revoked, and he has been on a DOC hold in Missoula County because he has a new criminal offense.
Peoples has not demonstrated that his due process rights have been violated. Due process is a flexible concept. "[T]he process due an individual varies according to the factual circumstances and the nature of the right at stake." Jellison v. Mahoney, 1999 MT 217, ¶ 8, 295 Mont. 540, 986 P.2d 1089 (citing Sage v. Gamble, 279 Mont. 459, 464-65, 929 P.2d 822, 825 (1996)). Peoples's attachments include a signed copy of the conditions of probation which precluded him from using illegal drugs. The DOC informed him of his violations and held a hearing. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that Peoples'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 Leslie Halligan. Missoula County District Court: to Shirley Faust, Clerk of District Court. Missoula County, under Cause No. DC-20-634; to Eric Owens, Missoula County Deputy Attorney; to Robert W. Henry, Defense Counsel; to counsel of record, and to Arthur Peoples personally.