Some new info has crossed the wire.
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/...
A Montana judge under fire for his comments about a 14-year-old victim in a schoolhouse rape case has ordered a new sentencing hearing for the former teacher who received just 30 days in prison for the crime.
In setting the hearing for Friday afternoon, District Judge G. Todd Baugh said Tuesday that state law appears to require that a two-year mandatory minimum prison term be imposed against Stacey Rambold, 54, of Billings.
Rambold last week was sentenced to 15 years with all but 31 days suspended and a one-day credit for time-served. He began serving his monthlong term last week at the state prison in Deer Lodge.
"In the Court's opinion, imposing a sentence which suspends more than the mandatory minimum would be an illegal sentence," Baugh wrote.
snip...
Prosecutors had been considering an appeal, citing the two-year minimum requirement.
But in a strange twist, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said Baugh may lack authority to impose such a sentence at this point. That's because state law says an illegal sentence must be handled through the appeal process.
Twito said he planned to be in Baugh's courtroom Friday but was unsure how the hearing might play out.
"I've done this a long time and I'm in an area I have not been in before," said Twito, now in his 16th year as a prosecutor.
Twito said members of his office, along with Rambold's defense attorney, Jay Lansing, met informally with Baugh last week to discuss the case.