Melton v. Oleso

530 P.2d 466 (Mont. 1974)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Melton (P) was convicted in a U.S. district court for violation of federal liquor laws. P was sentenced to forty days in jail and fined $500. P's fine was suspended, and P was placed on probation for five years. Under federal law, P's crime was clearly a felony because the maximum penalty for the crime was two years' imprisonment and federal law defined a felony as any offense punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year. Under the state law, the sentence imposed determined the classification of the crime; conviction was not a felony under state law. Oleson (D), the county attorney, filed a copy of the conviction with the county clerk with an opinion that P had been convicted of a felony and the county clerk removed P's name from the voting roles. D then informed the college board of trustees that P was no longer a voter, a qualification to be a college trustee. P restored his voting rights by court action. D appealed that restoration.