Montana

Lawyer accused of stealing over $500K from clients and trial bar group gets 42 months

A once-prominent Montana lawyer was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft charges. Prosecutors in the Missoula case say David Michael McLean, 75, stole $465,614 from clients by secretly settling cases and keeping the money, according to the Billings…

Dec 4, 2015 1:35 PM CST

Unbowed by 9th Circuit contempt order, ex-billionaire’s lawyer says he ‘feels like Gandhi’

A California lawyer apparently was not daunted by a contempt order issued Tuesday by a federal appeals court panel. Responding to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals findings that he had pursued a frivolous appeal and attempted to “smear” the reputation of a bankruptcy judge to “wriggle out of” an…

Aug 6, 2015 2:05 PM CDT

New DNA techniques entitle inmate to new testing despite deadline, 9th Circuit says

Old DNA samples that were too small for testing under old techniques can be examined using new tests, even though a three-year limit has passed, a federal appeals court has ruled. The samples are akin to “newly discovered evidence” because identification is now possible using the new tests, according to…

Jul 15, 2015 12:15 PM CDT

Trial attorney and wife give $10m to law school from which 3 generations of his family graduated

A trial attorney and his wife have donated $10 million to the law school from which he, his father and two sons have graduated, The gift is one of the largest ever received by the University of Montana School of Law reports the Great Falls Tribune. Alexander “Zander” Blewett III…

May 21, 2015 1:40 PM CDT

Federal judge jails ex-billionaire for contempt until he explains where $13.8M from resort sale went

A federal judge says an ex-billionaire hasn’t fully disclosed what happened to the $13.8 million he got from selling a Mexican resort. So he held Tim Blixseth in contempt and had him taken into custody Monday at a Helena, Montana, court hearing, reports the Associated Press. The 64-year-old is to…

Apr 21, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

Shooter who invoked the castle doctrine is convicted in exchange student’s death

Jurors in Missoula, Montana, have convicted a homeowner who claimed the castle doctrine gave him a right to shoot and kill a 17-year-old German exchange student who entered his garage on April 27. The homeowner, Markus Kaarma, was found guilty of deliberate homicide on Wednesday in the death of Diren…

Dec 18, 2014 7:01 AM CST

Homeowner was only ‘defending his pride’ in slaying of exchange student, prosecutor argues

Jurors began deliberations Tuesday in the deliberate homicide case against a Montana man who claimed he had a right to shoot a German exchange student who entered his garage in April. The lead lawyer for defendant Markus Kaarma, 30, of Missoula argued in closing statements Tuesday that the student was…

Dec 17, 2014 1:19 PM CST

On Forbes 400 list before 2008 business bankruptcy, ex-billionaire has paid $141.07 to trustee

Less than a decade ago, real estate entrepreneur Tim Blixseth was on the Forbes 400 list, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. Now, after a divorce, the Yellowstone Club developer is dealing with its bankruptcy. A closed-door hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court in Butte, Montana, at…

Nov 3, 2014 1:15 PM CST

Top state court nixes disbarment request of lawyer who admittedly stole $354K

Saying that more investigation is needed, the Montana Supreme Court has refused a disbarment request by a lawyer who admittedly stole $354,000. The attorney disciplinary process needs to play out to determine what restitution must be made and establish a factual record concerning any future request for reinstatement by lawyer…

Oct 15, 2014 4:50 PM CDT

Six Montana justices file amicus brief defending ban on acceptance of partisan endorsements

All but one of Montana’s Supreme Court justices have filed an amicus brief defending a rule that bars judicial candidates from seeking or accepting partisan endorsements. Six justices filed the brief (PDF) in Montana federal court in a suit filed by a candidate for justice of the peace, the Helena…

Sep 16, 2014 7:16 AM CDT

Man whose family posted $450K cash bond in homicide case wants public defender

A Montana man accused of shooting a woman to death while he was drunk and she was speaking to a 911 dispatcher from his home in Billings has been released on $450,000 cash bond posted by his family, Now Richard Douglas Reinert, 28, is arguing that he should be granted…

Jul 11, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

Burger King employee should get ‘a real job,’ controversial judge says

Corrected: Judge G. Todd Baugh of Billings, Montana, is back in the news, this time for his advice to a fast-food worker. Baugh told the Burger King employee, 21-year-old Brandon Daniel Turell, that he should get “a real job” to pay restitution to victims in his vandalism spree, the Billings…

Jun 26, 2014 11:52 AM CDT

Judge holds 4 no-show jurors in contempt, will waive $100 fines if they apologize in writing

A trial in Montana nearly had to be rescheduled this month after only half of the 48 individuals summoned for jury duty showed up. A dozen had contacted the Sanders County District Court in advance and were excused. But Judge James Manley ordered the other 12 to appear for a…

Jun 18, 2014 2:15 PM CDT

Jury awards $248.6M in fatal crash case; Hyundai will appeal

After an award of $248.6 million late Tuesday to the survivors of two cousins killed in a July 2011 head-on crash, Hyundai Motor America vowed to appeal in a Wednesday statement. The company called the Montana award, which included $8.6 million in compensatory damages and $240 million in punitive damages,…

May 14, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

Homeowner is charged in shooting death of student in his garage; self-defense law switches burden

Prosecutors who charged a Montana homeowner in the shooting death of a “garage-hopping” student will have to deal with state law giving stronger protections to those who shoot intruders. Homeowner Markus Kaarma, 29, of Missoula was released on bond after being charged with homicide in the April 27 slaying of…

May 8, 2014 4:05 PM CDT