State v. Passmore ( 2021 )


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  • (# tL 06/15/2021 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 20-0118 DA 20-0118 FILED STATE OF MONTANA, JUN 1 5 2021 Bowen Greenwood Plaintiff and Appellee, Clerk of Supreme Court State of Montana v. ORDER TERENCE R. PASSMORE, Defendant and Appellant. Appellee State of Montana has filed a Motion to Strike Material Contained in the Reply Brief that is Outside the Record. Self-represented Appellant Terence R. Passmore responds in opposition. By way of background, a jury convicted Passmore of three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent in 2007. Passmore appeals a January 21, 2020 Park County District Court Order Denying Motion to Amend Judgment where Passmore sought to move the court to "allow him to complete Phase 2 of his Sex Offender Treatment Program with Chris Quigley, LCSW in Missoula, rather than in the Montana State Prison(MSP)inmate program." The State moves to strike Passmore's Exhibit 1 and a portion of his Reply Brief because it contains materials outside of the record on appeal. M. R. App. P. 8. Citing to this Court's case law, the State points outs that "parties on appeal are bound by the record and may not add additional matters in briefs or appendices." State v. MacKinnon, 1998 MT 78, ¶ 15, 288 Mont. 329, 957 P.2d 23 (citation omitted). The State specifically requests that the eighteen pages of Exhibit 1 and the first full paragraph on page 6, starting with "Be that as it may" and ending with "Hopkins" because that text discusses Exhibit 1. Passmore asserts that those eighteen pages of Exhibit 1 are neither irrelevant nor unrelated. He contends "that the Prison is indeed forcing him to ultimately violate his right against self-incrimination." Passmore maintains his refusal "to admit to crimes that never occurred and for which no evidence, other than allegations exist." The Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure are clear. The record is comprised of "the original papers and exhibits filed in the district court, the transcript of proceedings, if any, and a certified copy of the docket entries prepared by the clerk of the district court shall constitute the record on appeal in all cases." M.R. App. P. 8(1). This Court received the District Court record of eight file folders, one transcript, and two envelopes on March 27,2020. We reviewed Passmore's Motion to Amend Judgrnent filed in the District Court record. Passmore included more than twenty-two pages ofthe same exhibits, namely the various Offender Staff Requests, treatment request, and letters to Blair Hopkins, that he included with his Reply Brief. While duplicative, these exhibits are part of the record on appeal here. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the State's Motion to Strike Material Contained in the Reply Brief that is Outside the Record is DENIED,as moot. The Clerk shall provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to Terence R. Passmore. DATED this)S day of June, 2021. Chief Justice 2 ( ?-(--(--2--- ta,t--,_ Justice

Document Info

Docket Number: DA 20-0118

Filed Date: 6/15/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 6/15/2021