Opinion
DA 24-0037
01-23-2024
STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ANDREW DAVID LARSON, Defendant and Appellant.
ORDER
Chad Wright, Appellate Defender, petitions this Court, on behalf of Andrew Davis Larson, for an out-of-time appeal from the November 1, 2022 order of the Twenty-First Judicial District Court, Ravalli County, in Cause No. DC-20-26. The Attorney General's Office does not object to this motion.
Wright asserts that Larson's trial counsel properly referred his appeal to the Appellate Defender Division, but no Notice of Appeal was timely filed because this case was confused with another later case, from which Larson also appealed.
Wright argues it would be unjust to deny Larson the right to appeal when the untimeliness of the Notice of Appeal was caused by circumstances outside of Larson's control.
We grant out-of-time appeals under M. R. App. P. 4(6) when an appellant establishes the existence of "extraordinary circumstances amounting to a gross miscarriage of justice," which would exist if we were to deny the petition here.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the petition for an out-of-time appeal is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, on or before February 20, 2024, Wright shall prepare, file, and serve a Notice of Appeal and a Request for Transcripts, if necessary, in compliance with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure.
The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order to all counsel of record.