Montana Code 46-18-502. Sentencing of persistent felony offender
46-18-502. Sentencing of persistent felony offender. (1) Except as provided in 46-18-219 and subsection (2) of this section, a persistent felony offender or a persistent felony offender under supervision shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 5 years or more than 100 years or shall be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both, if the offender was 21 years of age or older at the time of the commission of the present offense.
Terms Used In Montana Code 46-18-502
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Conviction: means a judgment or sentence entered upon a guilty or nolo contendere plea or upon a verdict or finding of guilty rendered by a legally constituted jury or by a court of competent jurisdiction authorized to try the case without a jury. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state or any ordinance of its political subdivisions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Parole: means the release to the community of a prisoner by a decision of the board of pardons and parole prior to the expiration of the prisoner's term subject to conditions imposed by the board of pardons and parole and the supervision of the department of corrections. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Persistent felony offender: means an offender who has previously been convicted of two separate felonies and who is presently being sentenced for a third felony committed on a different occasion than either of the first two felonies, except for an offender who was on conditional release, felony probation, or felony parole at the time the felony for which the offender is presently being sentenced was committed. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Persistent felony offender under supervision: means an offender who:
(i)was on conditional release, felony probation, or felony parole at the time the offense for which the offender is presently being sentenced was committed;
(ii)has previously been convicted of two separate felonies; and
(iii)is presently being sentenced for a third felony, except as provided in subsection (19)(c). See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Sentence: means the judicial disposition of a criminal proceeding upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or upon a verdict or finding of guilty. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)Except as provided in 46-18-219, an offender shall be imprisoned in a state prison for a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years or shall be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000, or both, if:
(a)the offender was a persistent felony offender or a persistent felony offender under supervision, as defined in 46-1-202, at the time of the offender’s previous felony conviction;
(b)less than 5 years have elapsed between the commission of the present offense and:
(i)the previous felony conviction; or
(ii)the offender’s release on parole, from prison, or from other commitment imposed as a result of the previous felony conviction; and
(c)the offender was 21 years of age or older at the time of the commission of the present offense.
(3)Except as provided in 46-18-222, the imposition or execution of the first 5 years of a sentence imposed under subsection (1) of this section or the first 10 years of a sentence imposed under subsection (2) of this section may not be deferred or suspended.
(4)Any sentence imposed under subsection (2) must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed.