June 18 2008
DA 07-0555
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
2008 MT 222N
WILLIAM LARRY WEAVER,
Petitioner and Appellant,
v.
STATE OF MONTANA,
Respondent and Appellee.
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Fourth Judicial District,
In and For the County of Missoula, Cause No. DC 96-12431
Honorable John W. Larson, Presiding Judge
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Appellant:
William Larry Weaver, Pro Se, Sparta, Georgia
For Appellee:
Hon. Mike McGrath, Attorney General; Mark W. Mattioli, Assistant
Attorney General, Helena, Montana
Fred R. Van Valkenburg, Missoula County Attorney, Missoula, Montana
Submitted on Briefs: May 14, 2008
Decided: June 18, 2008
Filed:
__________________________________________
Clerk
Justice Brian Morris delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d), Montana Supreme Court 1996 Internal
Operating Rules, as amended in 2003, the following memorandum decision shall not be cited
as precedent. It shall be filed as a public document with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and
its case title, Supreme Court cause number and disposition shall be included in this Court’s
quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports.
¶2 Appellant William Larry Weaver (Weaver) appeals the District Court’s denial of his
petition for postconviction relief or habeas relief. We affirm.
¶3 Weaver was convicted in 1998 of deliberate homicide. The District Court sentenced
Weaver to life without parole and imposed a consecutive ten year enhancement for use of a
dangerous weapon. We affirmed Weaver’s conviction in State v. Weaver, 2001 MT 115, 305
Mont. 315, 28 P.3d 451. Weaver then filed a petition for postconviction relief in which he
alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. He raised no sentencing claims. The District Court
denied Weaver’s petition and we affirmed on appeal in Weaver v. State, 2005 MT 158, 327
Mont. 441, 114 P.3d 1039.
¶4 The sentence review division affirmed Weaver’s sentence in March 2006. Weaver
filed a motion to vacate his sentence in July 2007. The District Court denied Weaver’s
motion and it also denied Weaver’s motion for reconsideration. Weaver then filed this
appeal.
¶5 Weaver argues on appeal that he committed his crime in 1993 and the law at that time
did not allow for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Weaver contends that
his “is a simple case.” He asks the Court simply to re-sentence him to a legal sentence. Ten
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years would be fine, according to Weaver. The State contends that Weaver’s sentence falls
within the statutory parameters and therefore his claim should be treated as a petition for
postconviction relief or habeas relief. We agree.
¶6 We review the term or length of a sentence for legality only to ascertain whether the
sentence falls within the statutory parameters. State v. Eaton, 2004 MT 283, ¶ 11, 323 Mont.
287, ¶ 11, 99 P.3d 661, ¶ 11. Questions regarding the fairness or equity of a sentence falls
with the sentence review division. State v. Shults, 2006 MT 100, ¶ 32, 332 Mont. 130, ¶ 32,
136 P.3d 507, ¶ 32. We have determined to decide this case pursuant to Section I, paragraph
3(d), of our 1996 Internal Operating Rules, as amended in 2003, that provide for
memorandum opinions. It is manifest on the face of the briefs and record before us that
Weaver’s petition faces insurmountable procedural bars and that his claim of an illegal
sentence is without merit. The District Court applied clearly settled Montana law to
Weaver’s claims.
¶7 We affirm.
/S/ BRIAN MORRIS
We Concur:
/S/ JAMES C. NELSON
/S/ JOHN WARNER
/S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART
/S/ PATRICIA COTTER
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State v. William L. Weaver
Combined Opinion