MT: p.d. work not recession - proof

An update from The AJB's and Me on the effect of the downturn on some of our contractor colleagues:

...(T)he State of Montana Office of Public Defender may change how they handle their conflict cases, resulting in a significant decrease in the availability of contract work for us and many of our friends. Basically that's like getting advance notice that layoffs are coming at your work... We naively thought we had pretty recession proof work because in hard times more people need public defenders...

Some of us inside p.d. offices thought we might be immune too. We're nowhere near home-free yet.

(This blog also contains many fine photos, taken by the lawyer / blogger, of life in Gallatin County; its title picture looks like a Russell Chatham painting.)

MT: right to counsel, nickel and dimed

From the Missoulian:

Sheriff, public defenders at odds over free calls

After allowing toll-free telephone calls between Missoula County jail inmates and their public defenders for more than two years, Sheriff Mike McMeekin says lost revenue has forced the arrangement to cease. As of July 1, indigent inmates must call their attorneys collect if they want to chat about their legal embroilments over the phone. Ed Sheehy, Missoula's regional deputy public defender, is crying foul...

"Lost revenue"?:

The phone provider to the Missoula County Detention Facility, AGM Telecom, charges a connection fee of $2.60 per call...

Damned Sixth Amendment doesn't comport with Sheriff's business plan.

MT: "a uniformity of quality from Ekalaka to Eureka"

From the Great Falls Tribune:

State's public defender overhaul earns Kudos

Two years after Montana overhauled its system for defending the poor in court — partly in response to an ACLU lawsuit — state officials and ACLU leaders say they've seen a major improvement. "I think Montana is actually viewed as a model nationwide for how reforms can be effected," said Robin Dahlberg, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU...

MT: homage to Butte

Something you may not have known about the Montana public defender system: the state capital may be in Helena, but by law the main office must be in Butte.

It fits. I like it.

"Efforts at systematic reform"

A&C reader Mike sent this link to an article in the January 2007 edition of Governing Magazine:

Rights of Defense - Poor people still don't get fair treatment in criminal court. But states are trying to change that.

Jeremy Gersovitz is a lawyer in Helena, Montana. Lately he has been having a pretty good run. In the past few months, his office has added several new attorneys, beefed up its support staff, and completely renovated its technology... None of this would sound unusual if Gersovitz were a partner at a high-priced corporate law firm. But he's a defense attorney for the indigent--the head of the regional public defender's office in Helena. He has a job notorious for crushing its practitioners under mountains of stress and disillusionment. Not too long ago, Gersovitz was feeling a little disillusioned himself, overwhelmed by a sense that he was frantically "treading water." That has changed...

Read the article for nods to Maryland, Louisiana, North Dakota, Georgia and Virginia, and predictions for future anecdotes about "young mothers saved and accidental junkies brought back from the brink by dedicated, well-trained, well-supported public defenders."

Card check

In Cook County, Illinois, the public defender rank and file aren't taking the layoffs of possibly 50 attorneys lying down.

Too bad that their boss is.

Too bad for the clients - remember them?

Finally, from Montana, Rabid Sanity reminds us that not all public defenders are joiners:

I find it ridiculous that lawyers have unions.

Bonus link explains "card check."

MT: kleine Welt

I'd been following the story of the Montana Sedition Project long before I discovered that I knew someone with a personal, family connection.

From the University of Montana:

J-School, Law School join forces for justice

The best success story thus far has been finding Billings attorney Steve Milch, the great-grandson of Joe Milch, one of the convicted. Coincidentally, Milch works at a different branch of the same law firm that employs Jason Loble in Helena. Loble is the great-grandson of the Lewis and Clark county attorney who prosecuted Milch’s great-grandfather and great-great uncle, John Milch. The Billings Gazette ran an article about this twist of fate...

From the NY Times:

Pardons Granted 88 Years After Crimes of Sedition

When Steve Milch found out recently that his great-grandfather, an immigrant from Bavaria, had been convicted of sedition in Montana during World War I, he was taken aback. It was something no one in the family had ever talked about...

But the silence — and for some families, the shame — has ended... Gov. Brian Schweitzer... posthumously pardon(ed) 75 men and three women...

Mr. Milch said the official acknowledgment, even after so many years, offered comfort and closure to the families.

"The whole Milch clan is appreciative of making things right," he said...

Mr. Milch's great-grandfather, John Milch, was turned in by an undercover agent named Eberhard Von Waldru... Mr. Von Waldru went into a German beer hall and drew out people's feelings on the war. His testimony was used against Mr. Milch; his brother, Joseph; and six other men. All were convicted, and four went to prison.

John Milch was sentenced to three to six years, but the law had expired by the time he was to begin serving his term. Joseph was fined $1,800.

Steve Milch said that although his family was not aware of the arrest, they did know about the anti-German sentiment of the time.

"There was a story that a mob of people was going around asking Germans to kiss the flag," Mr. Milch said. "My great-grandfather told them he didn't kiss anybody's flag, whether it was American or German."

Mr. Milch also had another surprise in store. He discovered that the great-grandfather of another lawyer in his firm was the Helena prosecutor who hired Mr. Von Waldru. "His great-grandfather prosecuted my great-grandfather," Mr. Milch said...

Steve Milch was in my law school class at U of I. The past isn't dead, it isn't even past.

MT: historic justice

Montana's governor has issued nearly 80 posthumous pardons to residents convicted of sedition during World War One.

From Great Falls: WWI sedition erased for 78

Wednesday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer — whose grandparents were German-speaking Russian homesteaders — issued the posthumous pardons, saying it was one of the best ways he knew to emphasize the importance of free speech.

"The Bill of Rights is not a menu. You don't order a la carte. You buy the whole meal," he told a gathering of family members of the accused.

From Missoula: Righting old wrongs

“In my box of dreams I guess I hoped that maybe someday these people could be exonerated.”

Righting an historic wrong

The Montana Sedition Project is leading the effort to urge Governor Brian Schweitzer to grant posthumous pardons to 40 men and one woman who, in 1918 and 1919, were convicted and incarcerated at the Montana State Penitentiary for terms of up to 20 years because they criticized the government during wartime. Another 36 persons were convicted but did not go to prison. Seems that they're making headway:

Pardon proponents optimistic they have Schweitzer's support

Although the plot to right a wrong hinges on Gov. Brian Schweitzer's blessing, an air of optimism hangs over a recent effort to pardon 77 Montanans convicted of felony sedition during the tail end of World War I.

Standing at the vanguard of the “Sedition Project” is a group of University of Montana law and journalism students and two UM professors... (T)he group formally petitioned Schweitzer's office, beseeching him to restore a sense of justice sullied by the now-defunct anti-speech law....

And while nothing is certain yet, Schweitzer has publicly denounced the convictions and pledged his support to the project, which has already garnered national attention...

A fine way to combine a sense of history with a sense of justice... The history of the Northwest at the end of the Great War is fascinating, and this project appeals to the p.d. and the history major in me. I've been following it ever since Professor Godsey posted about it on CrimProf Blog.

Bonus links go to

* MT: The Captain Who Fought World War I in Butte, Montana

* WA: Industrial Workers of the World -- A Snapshot History

* WA: Centralia's Union Mural - "The Resurrection of Wesley Everest" Depicts Labor's Side of the Centralia Massacre

* WA: The Seattle General Strike Project

Update 04/20/06:

Professor Jeff Renz of the University of Montana Law School sent out an e-mail message yesterday, stating: "I am pleased to announce that on May 3, 2006, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer will grant full and unconditional pardons to 77 men and women who were convicted of violating Montana's sedition act during 1918-1919 by speaking unpopular words."

Thanks to 13th Juror for the news.

MT: TDY

Cascade County names temporary chief public defender

As the days of a county-run public defender system draw to a close, having to fill two new vacancies in the public defender's office appeared a daunting task for the Cascade County commissioners.

The state takes control of Montana's public defender system on July 1, and there is no guarantee people hired now by the county will keep their jobs. Randi Hood, the state's new chief public defender, said the county employees will transfer to the state after July 1, but will be subject to a six-month probationary period.

Between now and July, Carl Jensen, an assistant in the county public defender's office since 1997, has agreed to run the Cascade County office....

Historic exoneration

Like a number of bloggers, I've been asked to link to the story of Clyde Kennard, an African American man who attempted to integrate the University of Southern Mississippi in the late 1950s, and after being denied three times, was framed and sentenced to prison. The site seeks a posthumous pardon for Kennard.

In Washington State this week, the legislature recognized a historical injustice:

126 years too late for Louie Sam, but appreciated nonetheless...

Drum beats and tribal chanting echoed through the capitol rotunda on Wednesday, as members of a Canadian Indian tribe accepted an "expression of regret" from state lawmakers for the mob killing of a 14-year Canadian boy more than a century ago...

This follows the exoneration of Leschi, a Nisqually leader hanged in 1858, whose conviction was vacated in 2004.

In Montana, the Pardon Project is an effort of journalism and law students seeking posthumous pardons for 74 people convicted of sedition during World War I. (link via CrimProf Blog)

MT: re-apply and get in line

Team-building and morale building in Montana...

State eliminating top positions in public defender offices:

All of the chief public defenders and deputy chief public defenders in Montana's counties will lose their jobs July 1.

Montana Chief Public Defender Randi Hood eliminated the top two positions in all of the state's public defenders' offices as part of a new statewide public defense system.

"There is no place in this structure for what are known as chief public defenders and deputy chief public defenders," Hood wrote in a letter to Gallatin County's Chief Public Defender Mariah Eastman. "You, and anyone else so designated ... will not be coming into the new system on July 1," she wrote.

And then she sealed the letter with a big kiss.

Over in Great Falls, not waiting for obsolescence, the chief public defender dusted off his copy of "What Color is Your Parachute?" and made the leap to the state office early, leaving the county in a bit of a lurch.

Public defender resigns:

The resignation of the county's chief public defender stirred concern among Cascade County Commissioners Wednesday as Montana makes the transition to a new state-run public defender system.

(Curiously, my resignation as my county's chief public defender stirred nothing but a spontaneous dance of a merry jig.)

Chief Public Defender Eric Olson announced Tuesday that he is taking a job as the training coordinator with the state's new public-defender system. He begins March 1 in Missoula.

The state is scheduled to take control of the public's legal representation five months from now. In the meantime, county commissioners must hire an attorney to cover the chief defender's overwhelming caseload... "It's an unexpected issue before us," County Commissioner Joe Briggs said.

The 2005 Legislature voted to implement a statewide public defender system — headquartered in Butte and set to begin July 1... The state will be divided into 11 regions, with Cascade County falling into the 9th District. Randi Hood of Helena was named the state's Chief Public Defender in October 2005. A regional administrator will head each of the 11 regions districts.

In the meantime, commissioners agree they are stuck hiring a public defender, but can't guarantee that the person will still have a job five months down the road when the state takes over.

Attorney General Mike McGrath issued an opinion in December saying that the law does not require the new state public defender system to retain any of the current public defenders.

"We are concerned about our employees and how they are treated in the changeover," Commissioner Peggy Beltrone said.

Beltrone hopes the state will participate in the hiring process so that the new defender has a better chance of keeping their job under the state it takes over.

Otherwise, "Who will apply?" she asked.

Well, would you?

MT: therapeutic community with concertina wire

In Montana,

...the state Department of Corrections is hoping to become a big player in the treatment of methamphetamine addiction. Not everyone is convinced that is a good thing, but department Director Bill Slaughter sees it as something that needs to be done. The state is asking private contractors to submit proposals by Jan. 10 to build a lockdown meth treatment center, with 80 beds for men and 40 for women.

A dissenting view:

(Treatment provider Mona) Sumner said the basis for any successful treatment is establishing trust between counselors and clients. In a prison program, it is difficult to build trust because the patients will be afraid that information they divulge will be used against them, she said.

"A punitive setting doesn't promote a therapeutic setting," Sumner said. "They think that by hiring someone who's a licensed addictions counselor, that somehow makes a program."

And a cryptic response:

"We're 72 percent successful," (Slaughter) said. "I'm sorry, Mona. We ought to have a parade."

MT: update on the "she's done" p.d.

Polson attorney quit murder trial after questions arose in unrelated case:

The Polson attorney who suddenly withdrew as counsel for murder suspect James A. Couture last week quit the case after being cited for contempt of court in an unrelated probate case that is now subject to a criminal investigation.

Court records show Rebecca Dupuis was held in contempt last Thursday... for failure to provide District Judge Kim Christopher financial records and a check for residual assets of the estate of...a Lake County rancher...

On Tuesday, Christopher said that during the contempt hearing Thursday Dupuis agreed to withdraw as attorney of record for all criminal defendants she was representing in the Lake and Sanders counties, at least while the investigation of the probate matter was pending.

Dupuis has not surrendered her license to practice law.

MT: she marched in and said, I'm done

This is like the scene in the movie where the cop throws down his badge, but not as cool. Or as voluntary:

Lake County public defender turns in law license:

A public defender removed from a murder case this week has handed in her license to practice law, Lake County Attorney Bob Long said Friday.

Long said Rebecca Dupuis likely faces theft charges, although he did not know when they would be filed.

"The surprising thing to us was that she marched in and said, 'I'm done,"' Long said.

This came about after

Lake County District Judge Kim Christopher abruptly replaced (her as) murder defendant James A. Couture's public defender Thursday, announcing that “Rebecca Dupuis will no longer be taking criminal cases at all.”

Yoiks!

Lake County Attorney Bob Long said a criminal investigation into Dupuis' fiduciary responsibilities in her private law practice may be pending.

MT & WY: methamphetamine blues

From New West Network, Meth's Grip on the Rural West:

The effects of Wyoming's meth problem (and the state is not the only one in the West fighting a similar battle) is trickling down into social services, prompting agencies to ask the state for a little back up. The increase in children placed in foster care and treatment programs has the Department of Family Services projecting a $6.5 million budget shortfall for this budget period. Meanwhile, in Montana, rural leaders are trying to figure out how to deal with the surge of meth labs in the Big Sky State's most remote areas.

Bonus links go to Mark Lanegan and "Methamphetamine Blues"

MT: the new state p.d. is here!

Good hire:

Randi Hood, a Helena lawyer with 30 years experience representing poor, accused criminals, was hired this week to be the state’s first chief public defender.

Hood, currently Lewis and Clark County’s chief public defender, will take the helm in early November of the state’s new statewide public defender agency...

"It has always been my deep desire to be a voice for people who don’t have much of a voice, Hood said, "I try to do the best job I can for them and I get a lot of satisfaction out of that."

MT: millions against meth

One California-based billionaire must know something about money, and must know that meth isn't a myth, else why would he be plowing so much money into fighting it?

Here is the Montana Meth Network, thanks to the generosity of Tom Seibel, a "software mogul" and Montana property owner.

Here's a companion site geared toward teenagers and young adults.

Link via New West Network.

Former Billings p.d. cleared of malpractice

It's been donkeys' years since I've posted a Montana public defender update. Here you go:

Roberta Drew cleared of malpractice charges

Donna June Enright, who was convicted of (arson and deliberate homicide) in the death of her stepfather... filed the suit... because she said Drew didn't do enough to push through a petition for another appeal... She demanded a jury trial...

(The judge) ruled Drew had not committed malpractice and the jury was excused... because “Enright cannot satisfy the element that but for Drew's actions the result in the case would have been different...”

In jail 321 days before trial

In Montana, private criminal defense lawyer Steve is a little rabid about the State's nonchalance about keeping his client in jail for so long without a trial.