Nickerson v. State

08/05/2020 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 20-0129 DA 20-0129 SHANE PHILLIP NICKERSON, Petitioner and Appellant, v. ORDER STATE OF MONTANA, FILE Respondent and Appellee. AUG 0 5 2020 Bovven Greenwood Clerk of Supreme Court State of Montana Representing himself, Appellant Shane Phillip Nickerson has filed a Subpoena Duces Tecum, requesting copies of incident reports, and a Motion for an Order of Protection from MSP Staff and Inmates. He argues that the incident reports are "a key piece of evidence to all of[his] arguments." He further requests that this Court "order the prison to protect [him]," because he does not want to be transferred, while he exhausts all court proceedings. This Court cannot assist Nickerson. In light of his filed requests, this Court does not have authority over the Montana State Prison, nor do we issue subpoenas or orders of protection as a district court does because we operate as an appellate court of review. Compare M. R. App. P. 1(2), with M. R. Civ. P. 45 and § 40-15-102, MCA. Nickerson's relief may be found through the Department of Corrections Grievance Policy. See Offender Grievance Program, DOC Policy 3.3.3. This Court reviews the record and finaljudgment in an appeal, such as Nickerson's. The Flathead County District Court record was filed on April 10, 2020. We observe that Nickerson is appealing the District Court's dismissal of his petition for postconviction relief. We point out that Nickerson's recent requests come seven months after the December 30, 2019 District Court Order. Moreover, Nickerson does not provide any argument about how his requests relate to his instant appeal of a court's decision. We remind Nickerson that he has until September 1, 2020 to file his response to the State of Montana's Motion to Dismiss. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Nickerson's Subpoena Duces Tecum and Motion for an Order ofProtection form MSP Staff and Inmates are both DENIED. The Clerk ofthe Supreme Court is directed to provide a copy ofthis Order to counsel of record and to Shane Phillip Nickerson personally. DATED this —day of August, 2020. For the Court, Chief Justice 2