Montana Code 46-18-243. Definitions
46-18-243. Definitions. For purposes of 46-18-241 through 46-18-249, the following definitions apply:
Terms Used In Montana Code 46-18-243
- Court: means a place where justice is judicially administered and includes the judge of the court. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state or any ordinance of its political subdivisions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Same transaction: means conduct consisting of a series of acts or omissions that are motivated by:
(a)a purpose to accomplish a criminal objective and that are necessary or incidental to the accomplishment of that objective; or
(b)a common purpose or plan that results in the repeated commission of the same offense or effect upon the same person or the property of the same person. See Montana Code 46-1-202
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(1)”Pecuniary loss” means:
(a)all special damages, but not general damages, substantiated by evidence in the record, that a person could recover against the offender in a civil action arising out of the facts or events constituting the offender’s criminal activities, including without limitation out-of-pocket losses, such as medical expenses, loss of income, expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services that the victim would have performed if not injured, expenses reasonably incurred in attending court proceedings related to the commission of the offense, and reasonable expenses related to funeral and burial or crematory services;
(b)the full replacement cost of property taken, destroyed, harmed, or otherwise devalued as a result of the offender’s criminal conduct;
(c)future medical expenses that the victim can reasonably be expected to incur as a result of the offender’s criminal conduct, including the cost of psychological counseling, therapy, and treatment; and
(d)reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the victim in filing charges or in cooperating in the investigation and prosecution of the offense.
(2)(a) “Victim” means:
(i)a person who suffers loss of property, bodily injury, or death as a result of:
(A)the commission of an offense;
(B)the good faith effort to prevent the commission of an offense; or
(C)the good faith effort to apprehend a person reasonably suspected of committing an offense;
(ii)the estate of a deceased or incapacitated victim or a member of the immediate family of a homicide victim;
(iii)a governmental entity that:
(A)suffers loss of property as a result of the commission of an offense in this state;
(B)incurs costs or losses during the commission or investigation of an escape, as defined in 45-7-306, or during the apprehension or attempted apprehension of the escapee; or
(C)incurs costs or losses as result of extraditing an offender from an out-of-state jurisdiction to Montana;
(iv)an insurer or surety with a right of subrogation to the extent it has reimbursed the victim of the offense for pecuniary loss;
(v)the crime victims compensation and assistance program established under Title 53, chapter 9, part 1, to the extent that it has reimbursed a victim for pecuniary loss; and
(vi)any person or entity whom the offender has voluntarily agreed to reimburse as part of a voluntary plea bargain.
(b)Victim does not include a person who is accountable for the crime or accountable for a crime arising from the same transaction.