State v. S. Polich

ORIGINAL 04/26/2023

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 23-0117

DA 23-0117 FILED STATE OF MONTANA, APR 2 6 2023 Bowen Greenwood Clerk of Supreme Coun Plaintiff and Appellee. State of Montana

v. ORDER SAXON DRU POLICH, Defendant and Appellant.

This Court reviews briefs to ensure compliance with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. On April 26, 2023, Defendant and Appellant Saxon Dru Polich, self-represented in this appeal, filed a document entitled "Affidavit of Obligation in Notice of a Violation of Rights protected and preserved by the Constitution for the United States of America[;] Writ of Mandamus[;] Demand and Notice for Certification[;] Certification inquiry[.]" This document is nonsensical and hard to decipher, but it appears Polich is attempting to appeal the District Court order affirming his Justice Court conviction for Obstructing a Peace Officer or Other Public Servant. While the Court attempts to give some leeway to self-represented litigants, the document filed by the Appellant is insufficient to constitute an appellate brief and must be resubmitted.

M. R. App. P. 2(4) requires the caption of an appeal to "list the parties in the same order as the caption used in the district court, with the addition of the designations `appellant' and 'appellee' as appropriate." M. R. App. P. 11(6)(b)(iii) requires the correct caption to be used on the cover page of the brief. The Appellant's document has modified the caption from that used in the district court.

M. R. App. P. 11(4)(e) requires a certificate of compliance indicating the document's line spacing and (1) that the document is proportionally spaced, together with the typeface, point size, and word count; or (2) that the document uses a monospaced typeface, together with the number of characters per inch and word count, or the number of counted pages. The Appellant's document does not contain a certificate of compliance.

M. R. App. P. 11(6)(a) requires the cover of an appellant's opening brief to be blue. The document filed by the Appellant has a yellow cover.

M. R. App. 11(6)(b) sets forth the information that must be presented on the cover of each brief, which includes cause number, title of the case, tribunal from which the appeal is taken, party names, names and contact information for counsel for each party, if any, and the title of the document. The cover of the Appellant's document does not include much of the information required by this rule.

The Appellant's document does not meet the requirements of M. R. App. P. 12(1)(a), which requires a table of contents, with page references, and a table of authorities; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(b), which requires a statement of the issues presented for review; M. R. Civ. P. 12(1)(c), which requires a statement of the case indicating the nature of the case and its procedural disposition in the court below; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(d), which requires a statement of facts relevant to the issues presented for review with references to the pages or parts of the record at which material facts appear; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(e), which requires a statement of the standard of review as to each issue raised, together with a citation of authority; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(f), which requires a summary of the argument which contains a succinct, clear, and accurate statement of the arguments made in the body of the brief; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(g), which requires an argument section containing the contentions of the appellant with respect to the issues presented, and the reasons therefor, with citations to the authorities, statutes, and pages of the record relied on; M. R. App. P. 12(1)(h), which requires a short conclusion stating the precise relief sought; or M. R. App. P. 12(1)(i), which requires an appendix that includes the relevant judgment, order(s), findings of fact, conclusions of law, jury instruction(s), ruling(s), or decision(s) from which the appeal is taken together with any written memorandum or rationale of the court, and those pages of the transcript containing any oral ruling in support.

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the signed original and seven copies of the referenced brief be returned for revisions necessary to comply with the specified Rules; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a signed original and seven copies of the revised brief ordered herein be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order with the Clerk of this Court and that one copy of the revised brief be served on each counsel of record; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the postage costs for returning the referenced copies of Appellant's brief will be billed to Appellant by the Clerk of this Court and shall be due and payable upon receipt; and IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the times for any subsequent briefmg contained in M. R. App. P. 13 shall run from the date of filing of the revised brief.

The Clerk of this Court is directed to mail a true copy of this Order to Appellant and to mail a true copy of this Order to all counsel upon whom the brief was served.

DATED this a l4'day of April, 2023.

For the Court,

By cA a/% 4 .

Justice