State v. Shults
Montana Supreme Court
544 P.2d 817 (1976)
Daniel Marcus Shults (defendant) was charged with felony theft under Montana law, carrying a possible ten-year sentence. At his arraignment, the prosecution amended the charge to the misdemeanor offense of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and Shults pleaded guilty in district court to that misdemeanor, receiving a six-month county-jail sentence. He later moved to set aside the conviction and dismiss the amended information, arguing the district court lacked jurisdiction over a misdemeanor charge; the district court denied his motion, and the Montana Supreme Court granted review.
Whether, once a district court assumes jurisdiction over an individual charged with a felony, that jurisdiction is lost if the State subsequently reduces the charge to a lesser-included misdemeanor.