A Ronan man, who appealed his sentence for assaulting a peace officer in April 2023 to the Montana Supreme Court, was re-sentenced in District Court in Polson May 28.

Darrin William Matt, 49, was initially sentenced to 24 years in the Montana State Prison by Judge Molly Owen. He was resentenced to a total of 12 years by Judge John A. Mercer, and given credit for having served 1,359 days in jail.

Matt was convicted by a 12-person jury Feb. 26, 2023. The jury deliberated for approximately 15 minutes before reaching the guilty verdict.

The prosecutor had a video recording of Matt kicking a detention officer in the face. The strike hit the officer’s face with enough force to make an audible sound of the officer’s head snapping back, clearly causing pain.

Although a 24-year prison term is well beyond the average 4.6-year prison term on such a conviction, it was Matt’s overall criminal history that determined his sentence in April 2023. Judge Mercer also cited his “extensive past criminal record” in the new sentence, as well as the seriousness of the offense.

The 4.6-year average prison term for assault on a peace or judicial officer was a statistic from the Montana Department of Corrections, quoted by Matt’s public defender at the time, Colton Risinger, in urging a five-year term during the initial sentencing hearing.

In his appeal, Matt argued that Judge Owens’s comments during sentencing infringed on his fundamental rights to a jury trial, by alleging that he had “wasted” the time of the Court, the State, and his attorney as well as taxpayer money when video evidence demonstrated Matt’s guilt “clear as day.”

The defendant also alleged that his treatment by tribal police at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes detention facility violated his right to due process.

The Supreme Court responded that the District Court judge’s reasons for sentencing Matt to 24 years “infringed upon his due process rights by premising the sentence on Matt’s exercise of his right to remain silent, his right against self-incrimination, and his right to a trial by jury.”

However, the justices opted not to review Matt’s claim that tribal law enforcement was guilty of “outrageous government conduct” in their treatment of the prisoner.