State v. Graveley

I dissent from the Court’s holdings in both issues; first, regarding the exceptions to the mandatory minimum sentence and, second, that the District Court’s alteration of the oral sentence was harmless error. The Court concludes that the question as to the applicability of exceptions to the mandatory minimum sentence only comes into play if the District Court, in fact, imposes the mandatory minimum sentence. See § 46-18-222, MCA. The Court then reasons that since the District Court imposed a 40-year sentence, rather than the minimum 10 years, there is no need to discuss the exceptions to the…