Senate Bill No. 256

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act creating the offense of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer; providing penalties for assault on a peace officer or judicial officer; removing assault on a peace officer or judicial officer from the offense of felony assault; amending section

45-5-202, MCA; and providing an immediate effective date and an applicability date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Assault on peace officer or judicial officer. (1) A person commits the offense of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer if the person purposely or knowingly causes:

(a) bodily injury to a peace officer or judicial officer;

(b) reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury in a peace officer or judicial officer by use of a weapon;

(c) bodily injury to a peace officer or judicial officer with a weapon; or

(d) serious bodily injury to a peace officer or judicial officer.

(2) (a) A person convicted of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer under subsection (1)(a), (1)(b), or (1)(c) shall be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000 or be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years, or both.

(b) Except as provided in 46-18-222, a person convicted of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer under subsection (1)(d) shall be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000 or be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 5 years or more than 40 years, or both.

(3) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Judicial officer" has the meaning provided in 1-1-202 and includes the workers' compensation judge, water court judges, and judges pro tempore.

(b) "Peace officer" has the meaning provided in 45-2-101 and includes a person, sworn or unsworn, who is responsible for the care or custody of a prisoner.

(4) Criminal endangerment, negligent endangerment, and assault, as defined in 45-5-201, are not included as offenses of assault on a peace officer or judicial officer.

Section 2.  Section 45-5-202, MCA, is amended to read:

"45-5-202.   (Temporary) Aggravated assault -- felony assault. (1) A person commits the offense of aggravated assault if he the person purposely or knowingly causes serious bodily injury to another.

(2)  A person commits the offense of felony assault if he the person purposely or knowingly causes:

(a)  bodily injury to another with a weapon; or

(b)  reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury in another by use of a weapon; or.

(c)  bodily injury to a peace officer or a person who is responsible for the care or custody of a prisoner.

(3)  A person convicted of aggravated assault shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 20 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, except as provided in 46-18-222. A person convicted of felony assault shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years or be fined not more than $50,000, or both.

45-5-202.   (Effective July 1, 1997) Aggravated assault -- felony assault. (1) A person commits the offense of aggravated assault if the person purposely or knowingly causes serious bodily injury to another.

(2)  A person commits the offense of felony assault if the person purposely or knowingly causes:

(a)  bodily injury to another with a weapon; or

(b)  reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury in another by use of a weapon; or.

(c)  bodily injury to a peace officer or a person who is responsible for the care or custody of a prisoner.

(3)  A person convicted of aggravated assault shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 20 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, except as provided in 46-18-219 and 46-18-222. A person convicted of felony assault shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years or be fined not more than $50,000, or both."

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 45, chapter 5, part 2, and the provisions of Title 45, chapter 5, part 2, apply to [section 1].

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Applicability. [This act] applies to offenses committed on or after [the effective date of this act].

NEW SECTION. Section 5.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

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