Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-307 (2026)

Automatic Review Of Sentence

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 18. SENTENCE AND JUDGMENT

Part 3. Death Penalty

Automatic Review Of Sentence

46-18-307. Automatic review of sentence. The judgment of conviction and sentence of death are subject to automatic review by the supreme court of Montana as provided for in 46-18-308 through 46-18-310.

History: En. 95-2206.12 by Sec. 7, Ch. 338, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 95-2206.12.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases, 1979–1998 · leading case: State v. Coleman, 605 P.2d 1000 (Mont. 1979).
State v. Coleman, 605 P.2d 1000 (Mont. 1979). · cites it 12× “1947, now sections 46-18-307 through XX-XX-XXX MCA.”
State v. Fitzpatrick, 606 P.2d 1343 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 9× “1947, now section 46-18-307 MCA, and the direct appeal of Fitzpatrick.”
State v. Sattler, 1998 MT 57 (Mont. 1998). · cites it 10× “Section 46-18-307, MCA. In doing so, we determine "whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor[.”
Fitzpatrick v. State, 638 P.2d 1002 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 9× “He contends that this Court, in its review of his sentence pursuant to § 46-18-307, MCA, failed to look at the transcript of the sentencing hearing.”
State v. McKenzie, 608 P.2d 428 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 6× “It also pointed to section 46-18-307, MCA, which provides for automatic review of death sentences by the Montana Supreme Court.”
Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149 (1990). · cites it 2× “1989); Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-307 (1989); Neb. Rev.”
Coleman v. State, 633 P.2d 624 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 6× “" This Court has not specifically addressed the question of whether capitally-sentenced defendants are entitled to the protections of the post-conviction relief statute, or whether the automatic sentence review statute, section 46-18-307 et seq.”
State v. Johnson, 1998 MT 289 (Mont. 1998). · cites it 6× “Accordingly, we hold that there was sufficient evidence to support Johnson's conviction on the charge of deliberate homicide and that the District Court did not err in denying Johnson's motion for a directed verdict.”
State v. Lester Kills on Top, 787 P.2d 336 (Mont. 1990). · cites it 4× “This case comes to us on a direct appeal and also under the automatic review of death penalty sentences pursuant to § 46-18-307, MCA. Whether on appeal or under automatic review, this Court is required under § 46-18-310, MCA, to determine whether or not the death sentence was…”
State v. Smith, 931 P.2d 1272 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 2× “As further described under Issues 6 and 7 below, Montana's statutory death penalty scheme specifically provides for a proportionality review by this Court as part of its automatic review of all death sentences imposed, pursuant to §§ 46-18-307 through -310, MCA. Such…”
State v. Langford, 813 P.2d 936 (Mont. 1991). · cites it 2× “On July 12, 1989, while this Court was reviewing these death penalty sentences under the automatic review provisions of § 46-18-307, MCA, MacKay notified this Court that Langford had changed his mind and had decided not to seek the death penalty; consequently, MacKay filed a…”
State v. Keith, 754 P.2d 474 (Mont. 1988). “Appeal is pursued according to the automatic review of sentence provided by Sections 46-18-307 to -310, MCA. We reverse the sentence of death for the deliberate homicide charge only and affirm in all other respects.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.