Hearing cancelled, Adler jury trial set for late June
PHILIPSBURG - The omnibus hearing set for Thursday, March 15, 2018 in the case of the State of Montana vs. Scott Conrad Adler has been cancelled after both parties agreed to pre-trial arrangements in a memorandum filed March 9, 2018.
Third Judicial District Court Judge Ray Dayton has set a trial date of June 25 for the two misdemeanor charges Adler faces, one of Official Misconduct and the other for Theft by Embezzlement.
The charges stem from work that was allegedly done at Adler's home on September 6-7, 2017, which saw Granite County Road Superintendent Paul Alt use county road employees to haul millings to Adler's home and pave his personal driveway. The project, as outlined in the affidavit filed by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Varns, states that Adler allegedly had "... two dump trucks ... a county roller, a grader, a water truck and the millings mulcher" on his property that were used to complete the project. This also included the use of four county employees and Alt, as Adler stated October 3, 2017 during a Granite County Commissioner's meeting on the subject.
Adler is in his second term as a Granite County Commissioner, having been reelected in 2016 with no opposition. Should Adler be found guilty of the Official Misconduct charge, he would be forced to permanently resign his position as an elected official.
Adler and his attorney, Mike Grayson, came to terms with Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Varns over trial details in the omnibus memorandum filed Friday, cancelling the upcoming court date. The memorandum lays out several ground rules for the June 25, 2018 trial, including Adler's decision to have a jury try his case.
The memorandum also states that Adler will provide evidence of good character and will rely on general denial as part of his defense. The document also stipulates that both parties will file any pre-trial motions and briefs by March 30, with a pre-trial hearing May 3, 2018 if those filings need to be reviewed and decided upon by Judge Dayton.
According to the final entry in the memorandum, counsel estimates that the trial will likely last 2-3 days.
You can download a copy of the omnibus memorandum here -
NOTE - This story originally ran on QSPNLive.com Mar 12, 2018.
