Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-551

Opinion No. 551 Childl'en-Delinquent Children-State Industria.) School, Commitment to -Suspension of Sentence -Parole-Courts. HELD: The district. court has the power to commit a delinquent to the State Industrial School and to then suspend the sentence and place the delinquent under the supervisory COIl- trol of the parole officer and in the temporary custody of the delinquent'" mother. June 8, 1934. You suhmit a letter by F. N. Ham- man, County Attorney of Carter Coun- ty, certified copy of an Order of Sus- 'penSion of Sentence of Cecil Bradley. and a certified cop~' of Order of Com- mitment committing said Bradley to the "State Reform Schoo\," You advise that the proceeding is new in your ex- perience and request advice from this office thereon. You do not advise just what phase of the matter you desire our advice upon, but advice from this office can in no matter control an order of the Dist.rict Court. If a judge of such court issues an erroneous order or de- cree the only method by which such error may be corrected is by proceed- ings to have the court grant a new hearing, or by appeal to a superior court. We have no objection, howe\'er. to suggesting some things tha t may be helpful to you. The Order of Committment is defec- tive in that Bradley is committed to the "State Reform School". There is no such institution in this state. Your in- stitution was at one time known by that title but such title was abolished in 1915. This is not an important de- fect in the proceedings as no difficulty would arise in determining the institu- tion to which Bradley was to he com- mitted. Chapter 185, Laws of 1933, amend- ing Section 12288, R. C. l\£., 1921, places such delinquent children as Bradley very fully under the supervision of the District Court and we think Judge Felt is within the law in t.he action taken in this case. Section 12285, R. C. :M., 1921, vests the power in the Judge to OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GE~ERAL 383 suspend any such committment. On page 452 of the 1933 Session Laws. part of Chapter 135 referred to abo\·e. the Court is given specific authority to commit. to your institution, but fur- ther along in the same chapter, at pagc 458, it is provided that the institutioll to which the delinquent is committed must ha ve ten days notice before such order of commitment is entered. This notice is no doubt for the purpose of permitting such institution to make such ohjections as it may desire to the commitment. In Section 12497, R. C. M., 1921, spe- cificaIJ~' relating to your institution, it is pro\·ided that any inmate com- mitted to ronr school found to be in- corrigible, unmanageable, or detrimental to the best interest of the school may be returned to the court that com- mitted such inmate. The order of SUSI}ension of sentence places the superYision of Cecil Bradley under the "Parole Officer of the State Industrial School at ~files City" and in the temporary custody of his mother. Your school. under the order of com- mitment. will haye such powers as a special or volunteer parole officer, and if the parole officer should become convinced that Bradley had violated his parole, and the facts formalJ~' placed before the court, the Judge no doubt would annul the parole o 1"(1 e l' and remand the delinquent to the cus- tody of your institution.