Records from Anaconda bar shooting to be unsealed

Nearly all charging documents from a high-profile quadruple murder case in Anaconda will be unsealed on May 8, which follows a district court judge’s order and a legal back-and-forth over the public’s right to know.

Michael Brown allegedly killed four Anaconda residents on Aug. 1 at the Owl Bar, according to law enforcement. A week-long manhunt ensued, involving local and state law enforcement, as well as multiple federal agencies.

Brown has been charged with four counts of deliberate homicide.

Records from the case were almost immediately sealed, a rare practice for criminal cases in Montana. A coalition of media organizations filed suit in January, seeking to unseal the records.

That coalition of media comprises The Daily Montanan, Montana Free Press, The Montana Newspaper Association, Montana Broadcasters Association, Lee Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates five of the state’s largest print newspapers, and the Montana Freedom of Information Coalition.

In February, District Court Judge Jeffrey Dahood denied a motion by the press coalition, which then appealed to the state Supreme Court. 

“The coalition also said the records should be open and that no evidence had been presented to show that disclosure of the records would jeopardize Brown’s right to a fair trial,” a Montana Freedom of Information Coalition press release reads. “It asked the judge to hold a hearing on whether the records should be open.”

A unanimous Montana Supreme Court found that the press coalition had been denied a chance to participate in the arguments about whether to seal the records, saying the media had a right to be heard.

An evidentiary hearing, where the press coalition would have argued why unsealing the documents was in the public’s interest, was scheduled after the state Supreme Court handed down its decision.

But lawyers for the state and Brown “reversed course” this week at a meeting with media attorneys, the Montana Freedom of Information Coalition said in a press release. Documents currently under seal include, “details supporting the charges, information on state evidence in the case, and the mental evaluation of Brown.”

Brown’s mental health evaluation will not be unsealed, but other charging documents will.

“We’re glad the prosecution and defense in the Brown case recognized that the law, the state constitution and legal precedent in Montana demand that, with few exceptions, court documents in criminal cases are open to the public,” Mike Dennison, president of the Montana Freedom of Information Coalition said in a press release. “We also hope this outcome serves as a message to prosecutors, defense counsel and judges across the state that, in Montana, these documents are public documents.”

Editor’s Note: The Daily Montanan is a part of the media coalition to enter the case.