02/19/2025

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 23-0581

DA 23-0581 _________________ STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ORDER STEVEN JOSEPH JOHNSON, Defendant and Appellant. _________________

This Court reviews briefs to ensure compliance with Rules 11 and 12 of the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure. After reviewing the Appellant’s opening brief filed electronically on February 18, 2025, this Court has determined that the brief does not comply with the below-referenced Rules and must be resubmitted.

M. R. App. P. 12(1)(d) requires that the statement of the facts portion of the brief contain references to the pages or the parts of the record at which material facts appear.

Although Appellant’s brief contains general references to the record, the majority of facts set forth are not accompanied by specific citations to the pages or parts of the record where facts are located.

M. R. App. P. 12(1)(g) requires that the brief contain citations to the authorities, statutes, and pages of the record relied on in the argument. Although Appellant’s brief contains references to authorities upon which it relies, these references are not sufficiently compliant with general citation conventions as to indicate the specific authorities relied upon.

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the referenced brief is rejected.

IT IS ORDERED that within ten (10) days of the date of this Order the Appellant shall electronically file with the Clerk of this Court a revised brief containing the revisions necessary to comply with the specified Rules and that the Appellant shall serve copies of the revised brief on all parties of record; IT IS ORDERED that no changes, additions, or deletions other than those specified in this Order may be made to the brief as originally filed; and IT IS ORDERED that the times for any subsequent briefing contained in M. R. App. P. 13 shall run from the date of filing of the revised brief.

The Clerk is directed to provide a true copy of this Order to the Appellant and to all parties of record.

Electronically signed by: James Jeremiah Shea Justice, Montana Supreme Court February 19 2025