03/10/2020 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA Case Number: DA 20-0118 DA 20-0118 STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ORDER FILED TERENCE R.PASSMORE, MAR 1 0 2020 Defendant and Appellant. ._ireeriwood Clerk of Supreme Court State of Montana Terence R. Passmore petitions this Court for an out-of-time appeal and for an extension oftime to file an appeal. Passmore is seeking to appeal a January 21,2020 order denying his Motion to Amend Judgment,entered by the Sixth Judicial District Court, Park County. As grounds, Passmore states he did not realize he needed to serve his Notice of Appeal and Motion for Extension of Time to all parties when he filed his documents with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, and the Clerk's office returned his documents. Passmore also requests an extension oftime to file his appeal because ofthe additional time necessary to research his constitutional issues and to possibly locate a pro bono attorney to represent him. He requests ninety days, but acknowledges he is unsure whether "90 days is sufficient for me to do the necessary reading for my appeal." Passmore misunderstands the Rules ofAppellate Procedure. Even though his initial Notice of Appeal was returned to him because of insufficient service, Passmore's appeal time has not yet expired. The District Court filed the subject order less than two months ago, in which it deemed Passmore's post-judgment motion as an untimely petition for postconviction relief. Whether this is considered a criminal or civil matter, Passmore has sixty days from the entry ofthe court's order on January 21,2020,to file a notice ofappeal with proper certificate ofservice. M.R. App. P. 4(5)(b)(i) and 4(5)(a)(i). There is no provision in the Rules of Appellate Procedure for extending the time for filing of an appeal, and Passmore cites to no legal authority for such a request. Passmore may file an appeal by the deadline. Thereafter, a district court may take up to forty days to transmit its record to this Court, M. R. App. P. 9(1), and briefing does not begin until thirty days after the record is received. M.R. App.P. 13(1). Therefore,there is time within the process for Passmore to contact an attorney and/or undertake the necessary preparation of his arguments. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Passmore's Petition for an Out-of-Time Appeal is DENIED as unnecessary. The Clerk ofthe Supreme Court may file Passmore's submitted Notice of Appeal as of this Order's date. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Passmore's Motion for Extension ofTime to File Appeal is DENIED. The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to Terence R. Passmore along with a copy of this Court's Civil Appellate Handbook. DATED this 1 IS day of March, 2020. Chief Justice 2