Example Article for Court Beat
Court Beat
 | Author:
Valerie Hornsveld, MT43 News Reporter
MT43News Court Beat Reporter |
Court Terms and Friday 6 Session
Valerie Hornsveld
MT43 News Reporter
Good day! Before I start with our weekly Court news, I would like to take a couple of minutes to explain a little about the filing of a Criminal Case and how the hearings are set and what they mean.
Broadwater County shares 4 Judges with Lewis and Clark County and together we make up the First Judicial District Court of Montana. Each of our judges has an assigned letter and week in which they preside over our Law and Motion Hearings on Friday. The Honorable Mike Menahan, his letter assignment is A, and he has the first week of the month for his trials, Law and Motion Hearings. The Honorable Mike McMahon has the letter B, and he has the second week for his trials and Law and Motion Hearings. The Honorable Kathy Seeley has the letter C and has the third week for her trials and Law and Motion hearings. The Honorable Christopher Abbott has the letter D and has the fourth week for his trials, and Law and Motion Hearings.
To start a Criminal Filing, the County Attorney files a Motion to file Information with the Clerk of the District Court's office. The Clerk's office files the motion and the computer assigns the Judge for the case. The Clerk then sends the Motion to file to the assigned judge for review and signature. Once the Judge has signed the motion, it is sent back to the clerk’s office for the Information to be filed and the case is now ready for hearings to be set.
The first hearing to be set is the Initial Hearing. At this Hearing, the defendants meet with the Judge. The Judge explains the Charges and possible punishment to the Defendant.
The second hearing is the Arraignment. This is the time for the defendant to plead Guilty or Not Guilty to the Charges. Dates for future hearings are set at this time. Sometimes the Arraignment hearing is held at the same time as the Initial Hearing.
The third hearing is Omnibus. This hearing is only held if there has not been an Omnibus Memorandum filed into the case. The Omnibus hearing or Memorandum addresses anything needing discussed before the Pretrial.
The fourth hearing is the Pre-trial. The Pre-trial is the final hearing before the trial. The Judge provides final instructions to the attorneys of what is needed for the trial.
The last hearing is the Jury trial. This hearing is held before a Jury. Evidence is provided by the parties. After the evidence, the Jury will deliberate and come back with a Verdict.
More Court terms next week.
Friday, February 6, 2026, Judge Michael Menahan
DDC-26-08- Timothy Earl Denton and DDC-26-09- Rebecca Sue Swanton. These are Companion cases, so their Initial Hearings were held at the same time.
The parties both have three of the same charges and possible punishments:
Count 1: Criminal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, a felony, the Defendants purposely or knowingly possessed a dangerous drug, methamphetamine. Possible Penalty: This offense is punishable by a fine not to exceed $5000 and a term of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years.
Count II: Criminal Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, the Defendants Purposely or knowingly possessed with intent to use drug paraphernalia, a glass pipe, to ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a dangerous drug. Possible Penalty: This offense is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 and a term of imprisonment not to exceed 6 months.
Count III: Endangering Welfare of Children, a felony, the Defendants knowingly caused a child to be exposed to or have contact with methamphetamine, or be exposed to or have contact with methamphetamine paraphernalia, in the residence of the child, or in a structure or outdoor location where the child might reasonably be expected to be present. Possible Penalty: This offense is punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 and a term of imprisonment not to exceed 5 years.
The Parties were prepared to go to the Arraignment Hearing. The Defendants both plead Not Guilty to the charges. The Court set dates for the other hearings before the Honorable Chris Abbott.
BDC-25-24 Dennis Michael Hinchey appeared in Court on a Bench Warrant issued for failure to appear for a final pretrial. The Court had the hearings rescheduled for the Pretrial and Jury trial before the Honorable Mike McMahon, the defendant was released. Defendant was instructed to show up for the pre-trial and trial. Defendant was released with all previous conditions of Bond in effect.
ADC-26-3—Molly Marie Gardener appeared in Court for her Arraignment. The defendant plead Not Guilty to Count 1-Assault with Weapon and Count II-Kidnapping. The Court set dates for the Omnibus, Pretrial and trial before the Honorable Mike Menahan.
