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Elk poacher loses high court appeal; Man convicted in 1996 of shooting into herd of 20 elk
Associated Press
HELENA - A Philipsburg man has lost the latest round in his eight-year battle to overturn his conviction for 10 elk hunting violations in Granite County.
The Montana Supreme Court rejected Darell McDonald's claims that his lawyer on his latest appeal was ineffective and that his consecutive sentences for the crimes should have run concurrently.
McDonald and a companion fired more than a dozen shots into a herd of 20 elk that were grazing in a fenced pasture near several hundred cattle southwest of Philipsburg on Nov. 22, 1996, the Supreme Court said in recapping the case.
McDonald was convicted of 11 violations in Justice Court, appealed to District Court and was convicted of 10 of them - hunting a bull elk without a permit, failure to wear blaze-orange hunting garments, four counts of taking more than one game animal, and four counts of creating a hazard in the act of hunting.
He was given a three-year suspended sentence, ordered to pay $2,410 in fines and restitution, and lost his hunting privileges for 10 years.
He appealed the conviction on grounds that the prosecutor made improper claims during his closing remarks. The Supreme Court rejected that appeal.
McDonald then asked the District Court to reduce his sentence, claiming that both his trial lawyer and appeal lawyer were ineffective. He was denied and appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which rejected his claims this week.
"The record establishes that McDonald was, in the words of his trial counsel, an 'exasperating and demanding client' with a high degree of involvement in his case," Justice W. William Leaphart wrote for the unanimous five justice panel.
"In each of the above-claimed instances of ineffective assistance, McDonald's trial counsel conferred with McDonald in regard to the decision at issue. The record establishes that each of these issues was discussed with McDonald and that a strategic decision was made about each."
Leaphart said McDonald's claims of ineffective counsel on appeal also boiled down to complaints about strategic decisions.
"We give such decisions great deference and conclude that appellate counsel was not ineffective in this regard," Leaphart said.
Chief Justice Karla M. Gray and Justices Patricia O. Cotter, James C. Nelson and John Warner concurred.
Associated Press
HELENA - A Philipsburg man has lost the latest round in his eight-year battle to overturn his conviction for 10 elk hunting violations in Granite County.
The Montana Supreme Court rejected Darell McDonald's claims that his lawyer on his latest appeal was ineffective and that his consecutive sentences for the crimes should have run concurrently.
McDonald and a companion fired more than a dozen shots into a herd of 20 elk that were grazing in a fenced pasture near several hundred cattle southwest of Philipsburg on Nov. 22, 1996, the Supreme Court said in recapping the case.
McDonald was convicted of 11 violations in Justice Court, appealed to District Court and was convicted of 10 of them - hunting a bull elk without a permit, failure to wear blaze-orange hunting garments, four counts of taking more than one game animal, and four counts of creating a hazard in the act of hunting.
He was given a three-year suspended sentence, ordered to pay $2,410 in fines and restitution, and lost his hunting privileges for 10 years.
He appealed the conviction on grounds that the prosecutor made improper claims during his closing remarks. The Supreme Court rejected that appeal.
McDonald then asked the District Court to reduce his sentence, claiming that both his trial lawyer and appeal lawyer were ineffective. He was denied and appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which rejected his claims this week.
"The record establishes that McDonald was, in the words of his trial counsel, an 'exasperating and demanding client' with a high degree of involvement in his case," Justice W. William Leaphart wrote for the unanimous five justice panel.
"In each of the above-claimed instances of ineffective assistance, McDonald's trial counsel conferred with McDonald in regard to the decision at issue. The record establishes that each of these issues was discussed with McDonald and that a strategic decision was made about each."
Leaphart said McDonald's claims of ineffective counsel on appeal also boiled down to complaints about strategic decisions.
"We give such decisions great deference and conclude that appellate counsel was not ineffective in this regard," Leaphart said.
Chief Justice Karla M. Gray and Justices Patricia O. Cotter, James C. Nelson and John Warner concurred.
