More from the Leonard trial

By Micah Drew, Jordan Hansen and Keila Szpaller

"They squeezed money out of some of the poorest people you’ve probably met just to get those pretrial fees.” — Lawyer Phil Telfeyan, with Equal Justice Under Law, in a case alleging Ravalli County’s pretrial program violated due process. Ravalli County prevailed, but Telfeyan said the plaintiffs are likely to appeal.

You know one of the best parts about a jury trial?

Listening to the jury instructions. It’s like getting a very clear roadmap for getting from point A to Z.

Here’s what you can consider; here’s how you should treat this type of information; here’s what to disregard; here’s the standard to use.

There’s something reassuring about it. Clarity.

The Daily Montanan covered Leonard et al vs. Ravalli County in federal court this week, a lawsuit where the plaintiffs alleged a pretrial supervision program violates people’s due process rights.

It also addressed to what extent a person is truly presumed innocent until proven guilty.

You can read about the case if you’re interested and haven’t yet.

I’ll tell you another reassuring thing from spending the bulk of the week in that (windowless) courtroom.

Judge Dana Christensen seemed to treat everyone on the witness stand the same, whether a peer, such as a fellow judge, or a person who has been in jail multiple times.

He tells everyone to speak into the mic. He reminds them the water bottles are for them if they need one.

Maybe those are small things, but they give the sense that justice is in play in those walls from top to bottom.

When he saw one lawyer eliciting testimony from a witness that was out of bounds, he barked at the lawyer from the other team and asked if she was listening. It made me think he wanted to be sure things were fair.

Christensen also objected a couple of times on his own, and then sustained himself. Is that satisfying, like, I’m helping to keep things on the rails? Or is it annoying, like, hello lawyer buddies, I’m doing part of your job here?

I might call him and ask, but I don’t think I’d get a response. Better to maybe try a retired judge for an answer.

In trial, a lot of the witnesses for the plaintiffs said they were confused about being treated as though they were guilty before being found guilty, but the jurors found Ravalli County wasn’t violating their due-process rights.

The trial made me wonder about the undercurrents in play in a jury’s decision, the things that aren’t the facts of the matter, but are the feelings in the room.

Does a jury have more skepticism toward lawyers from Washington, D.C., than toward Montana attorneys?

Is it hard for jurors to set aside their own emotional reactions?

To illustrate the way preponderance of the evidence works, the standard for a decision in the case, the team from D.C. showed a couple of visuals, a feather tipping a scale to 50.1%, and a football landing not in the end zone but just a hair over the 50-yard-line.

The visuals were helpful to me because as a lay person, I have a hard time remembering the difference among preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing, and beyond a reasonable doubt.

But one thing I admit made me roll my eyes was that the visual of the football field had the Montana Grizzlies name on it. Oh, brother.

Can a legal team lose points with jurors based on insignificant things like that? 

I don’t know, and obviously they shouldn’t. (But still, do they?)

The jurors seemed engaged most of the time, and lawyer Mitchell Young, for Ravalli County, thanked them for their attention in the case too.

So did that come across as pandering? Not to me, but I suppose it could in some circumstances.

Either way, Ravalli County won.

You have to imagine it’s not easy to get a court to overturn a jury’s decision, but the Equal Justice Under Law lawyer said the team will probably appeal anyway.

We’ll keep you posted.

~ Keila Szpaller 

Over the past few weeks, the races for Montana’s two U.S. House seats, as well as a U.S. Senate seat are up for election. I went down to Butte on Tuesday for the Democrat’s debate at the Motherlode Theater, a place I know fairly well as I literally used to live across the street.

It’s a cool venue — and they’re looking to update it as well. The event was billed as a debate, though at this point, the four Democrats haven’t exactly differentiated themselves from one another. I think those differences will start to come out as we get closer to the primaries, but right now it truly is a crowded race.

Getting the chance to cover elections is something I view as a privilege, and at the end of the day, I have just one goal in mind — give voters the best and most accurate picture of their views, so they can make an informed choice. Your support goes a long ways toward helping us do that, so know that is appreciated by us.

It should be an interesting race, and on the Republican side, it is too — especially with Christi Jacobsen now in the primary along with Aaron Flint and Al Olszewski. Will Jacobsen play spoiler? Only time will tell.

~Jordan Hansen

The Montana Historical Society launched Montana Madness, a March Madness-style bracket to determine Montana's Best Best Place, the organization said in a news release.

Sixteen iconic locations from around the state will compete head-to-head throughout the month of March to crown a winner.

Voting started March 9 and is open here.

Participants can cast one vote per day, per device. (Editorial comment: Generous!)

The 16 contenders were selected from “A History of Montana in 101 Places,” the newest title from MTHS Press, by attendees of the Society's annual Montana History Conference, the organization said.

If you win, a copy of that book is your reward.

The organization said the sites span all six of Montana's tourism regions — from the sweeping breaks and plains of Missouri River Country to the peaks of Glacier Country — and represent the remarkable breadth of the state's cultural and historical heritage.

"Montana has no shortage of extraordinary places, and we think Montanans will have a strong opinion about which one deserves the top spot. We can't wait to see how this plays out,” said Martha Kohl, outreach and education program manager for the Montana Historical Society, in a statement.

The winning site will receive copies of the “101 Places” book, a featured display in the Montana Heritage Center, and a customized trophy. The bracket will be narrowed on a weekly basis, with winners advancing until a single champion is crowned.

The 16 Contenders:

Central Montana

Glacier Country

Missouri River Country

Southeast Montana

Southwest Montana

Yellowstone Country

I’m not saying I’m voting for the National Bison Range, but I’ll recommend a visit if you haven’t been there yet.

~ Keila Szpaller

Thanks for reading Treasure State Update. If you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.