DA 06-0134
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
2008 MT 444
STATE OF MONTANA,
v.
WILLIAM JOHN MATT,
Matt raises three issues on appeal:
1. Did the District Court err in limiting Matt’s cross-examination of one of the State’s witnesses?
2. Did Matt’s trial counsel provide constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel?
3. Was Matt’s constitutional right to be present at all critical stages of his trial violated and, if so, was the violation harmless error?
¶3 Because we conclude that Matt’s conviction must be reversed under Issue 3, we do not address Issues 1 and 2. Moreover, since this case is being remanded for a new trial, we do not provide substantial details regarding the facts underlying the charged offense.
Matt raises three issues on appeal:
1. Did the District Court err in limiting Matt’s cross-examination of one of the State’s witnesses?
2. Did Matt’s trial counsel provide constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel?
3. Was Matt’s constitutional right to be present at all critical stages of his trial violated and, if so, was the violation harmless error?
¶3 Because we conclude that Matt’s conviction must be reversed under Issue 3, we do not address Issues 1 and 2. Moreover, since this case is being remanded for a new trial, we do not provide substantial details regarding the facts underlying the charged offense.
About Me
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- MarkAnthonyGiven
- Given was raised on the streets and in foster homes surrounded by twelve girls. By age 11, authorities already warned his foster mother: “He’s too smart for his britches — keep an eye on him.” That early spark of genius — later estimated in the 145–155+ IQ range (top 0.1% to 0.01% of humanity) — combined with an elite, poetic vocabulary that flows like open chords, propelled him into a life few could survive, let alone immortalize. From the age of 16, Given became a one-man crime wave: robbing 75 banks with nothing but a Bic Pen and a smile, inventing the Mercury Bandit invisibility trick with a baby thermometer, dropping through pharmacy roofs with a Superman pillowcase, and running from New Orleans detectives through the French Quarter while dressed as a 70-year-old woman. He served 12 years on a 10-year federal sentence, reading 120 volumes of Supreme Court decisions in the hole and ruling the law library like a throne. He met the devil twice on a dope-sick bed and refused to curse God — only to have angels physically grab his arm and pull him back. His 56+ stories pour out raw, unoutlined, and alive — no MFA polish, no ghostwriter, no filter. The prose is Hemingway-tight yet