Judge orders Lincoln County to pay Hicks’ attorney’s fees
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
August 20, 2008
A Flathead County judge has ordered Lincoln County to pay the cost of defending Justice of the Peace Gary Hicks against a complaint filed with the Montana Judicial Standards Commission.
The commission’s case against Hicks – accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women who appeared in his court on criminal charges – is scheduled to proceed with a hearing starting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the Lincoln County Courthouse. Three days have been set aside for the hearing.
The case against Hicks was filed this spring, with six women accusing the judge of making inappropriate comments ranging from compliments on their appearance to solicitations for a sexual relationship. The complaint was later amended with three additional women making allegations.
Hicks retained attorney Tammi Fisher of Kalispell to represent him in the matter, which is not a criminal case but which could result in his suspension or removal from office. After the county refused to pay his legal fees, he filed suit in district court.
The county disputed Hicks’ claim that it was required under state law to pay for his defense, arguing that his alleged actions were taken outside of his scope of employment as justice of the peace and are therefore not covered by the law. In a similar case involving a suit filed against a former sheriff’s deputy, the district court ruled that the county was not required to provide a defense, the county’s attorney noted.
But Judge Katherine Curtis of Flathead County, who took over the case after the county requested that Judge Michael Prezeau step aside to avoid any potential conflicts, ruled last week that the county must pay Hicks’ legal bills. Curtis did not immediately include justification for her ruling, but said that a rationale would be filed in support of the order within a reasonable time as her schedule allows.
Fisher had filed a request for an immediate order from Curtis, arguing that if Hicks’ legal bills were not paid by the county she would be forced to drop the case and Hicks would have to appear before the commission alone. Because Hicks is not an attorney, he would be a "sitting duck" in the courtroom, Fisher wrote. She pointed out that the commission appoints a prosecutor but not a defense attorney and that more than 70 potential witnesses have been listed in the case.
To date, Hicks’ bills have amounted to more than $10,000, Fisher noted.
Fisher had previously sought to have the hearing delayed until the question of whether the county would pay for Hicks’ defense could be determined. The request was denied by the commission, and Fisher filed a petition with the Montana Supreme Court to reverse that decision.
"Were this matter allowed to proceed as scheduled, the prosecutor and the litany of witnesses would be allowed to run roughshod over Judge Hicks, and the potential for a proverbial ‘Salem Witch Hunt’ is a very real threat," she argued.
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Editor’s Note: See the August 18, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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