Draft bill would eliminate jail time for some misdemeanors

A bill requested by the Montana Public Defenders Commission would eliminate jail sentences for nine misdemeanor offenses, ranging from theft to minor traffic violations.

The goal is to save money, commission chairman Richard Gillespie said. Public defenders for indigent people are not required unless they are facing potential jail time. Similar bills were introduced in the 2011 and 2013 Montana legislative sessions, he said.

The savings to the Montana Office of Public Defenders is estimated to be $500,000 per year, Gillespie said. The office’s $26 million budget pays for about 120 lawyers and 100 support staff across Montana, including 19 investigators, he said. About 240 lawyers also contract with the office for public defense work.

In most cases, the maximum sentence for misdemeanor offenses is a $500 fine and six months in jail.

Draft bill number LC0352 would eliminate jail time on first offenses for theft of property valued at less than $1,500, theft of lost or mislaid property valued at less than $1,500, theft of labor or services or use of property, issuing bad checks valued at less than $1,500, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, driving without a license, driving while a license is suspended or revoked, and driving without proof of insurance.

“I don’t agree with this legislation,” Columbia Falls police chief Dave Perry said. “Most of the crimes listed are serious misdemeanors. It will reduce the judges’ authority to correct the defendant’s behavior.”

Gillespie noted that if the bill passed, judges could still put an offender in jail for contempt of court if they failed to pay their fines.

Gillespie, who’s been on the commission about five years and the chairman since 2010, believes the proposed bill has a better chance of passing this time around.

The bill was opposed in the past by the Montana County Attorney Association, and the Montana ACLU is “not entirely happy with the bill,” but the Public Defenders Commission has established a better line of communication with Republican legislators who might support the bill as a cost-savings measure, he said.