Jeremiah Gideon is working his way through the legal system on charges of attempted deliberate homicide and assault on a peace officer, highlighting flaws in the state’s processes and resources where mental health and criminal justice intersect.

Gideon appeared in court July 31 as attorneys for his defense and the prosecution are asking the judge to make decisions in the case.

Gideon is facing attempted deliberate homicide and assault on a peace officer charges from an Oct. 9 incident in which he hit a Montana Credit Union employee with his vehicle and during subsequent interviews, threatened investigators.

Judge John Kutzman civilly committed Gideon to the Montana State Hospital for treatment in August 2024, but within about five weeks, he’d been released and arrested on a new assault charge, then about a week later, had hit the bank employee with his vehicle.

State hospital wants to send attempted homicide defendant back to county jail; defense attorney moves for dismissal due to continued state hospital delays; county prosecutors ask for involuntary medication in hope of continuing criminal prosecution

Gideon’s attorneys have previously moved to have the charges dismissed due to significant delays in having Gideon evaluated for his mental fitness to proceed, which they argue is subject to a 90 day provision in state statute.

This week, his attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds of speedy trial violations.

Earlier this year, the court was awaiting a determination whether Gideon was fit to stand trial for the Oct. 9 incident and Gideon was civilly committed to the Montana State Hospital in February.

In April, Gideon was transferred back to the Cascade County jail and local prosecutors filed a motion asking that the county, through medical professionals at the jail, could involuntarily medicate Gideon if needed.

State hospital staff determined in April that Gideon “has reached maximum benefit” but since he’s still facing a $500,000 bond in the current criminal case, he’s remained in the county jail through the criminal proceedings.

So far, Gideon has been voluntarily taking medication, which his attorney said during the July 31 hearing was lithium.

At the end of June, a provider evaluated Gideon finding him fit to proceed, according to lawyers during the hearing.

Ryan Ball, the deputy county attorney prosecuting the case, told Judge John Kutzman that they’re asking to schedule a trial.

Criminal case dismissed due to state hospital delays; other cases remain in limbo waiting for mental health evaluation, treatment

Michael Kuntz, an attorney for Gideon, said that the case was nearing the 300 day mark and they filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds of speedy trial violations to ensure Gideon’s rights are maintained.

Kuntz said he wasn’t asking Kutzman to rule on that motion during the July 31 hearing.

There’s an underlying argument from Gideon’s defense that the case should be dismissed because it took far longer than 90 days, which is specified in state statute, for Gideon to be evaluated for fitness to proceed, with significant delays by the state hospital despite court orders.

“This is the law. It must be applied fairly and equally,” Kuntz said, acknowledging the severity of the charges against Gideon.

Ball said that there had been changes to the applicable statutes during this year’s legislative session but that Gideon’s rights weren’t violated in relation to the 90 day timeline.

Kutzman asked Ball to file a short brief on those legislative changes and whether they were retroactive.

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County Attorney Josh Racki said his office would have that brief filed quickly and that they’d ask the court to schedule the case for trial.

Kutzman said that Gideon was fit to proceed as of the July 31 hearing, but the issue was how long it has taken to reach that point.

He said he’ll await Ball’s brief and Kuntz’ response and then make a ruling, “which I thoroughly understand is urgent.”

Among the legislative changes are a prohibition on holding the state in contempt for not completing the fitness examinations and an adjustment to the 90 day timeline.

SB 429, sponsored by Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, includes language that within 90 days or ordering an evaluation of fitness, shall review the defendant’s status and if the court finds the defendant hasn’t been admitted to “an appropriate mental health facility, residential facility, or to the custody of the director of the department of public health and human services and is still unfit to proceed  because the defendant has a mental disorder or mental illness, the court shall assess whether the proceeding against the defendant must be dismissed, or whether alternatives to incarceration, if applicable, or to commitment are appropriate under the circumstances, including whether the involuntary administration of medication is necessary.”

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The bill, as passed by legislators, also includes a new provision that “after the initial review of the defendant’s custodial status…the court shall review the defendant’s custodial status every 30 days or at an interval the court determines appropriate under the circumstances. If on subsequent review the defendant is still unfit, it does not appear that the defendant will become fit within the reasonably foreseeable future, and that alternatives to forensic commitment are not appropriate under the circumstances, the court shall order the proceeding against the defendant dismissed without prejudice and the prosecutor may petition the court…to determine the disposition of the defendant pursuant to those provisions.”

The legislation was largely written by attorneys for the state, but they did work with county attorneys to make it more palatable, Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki said.

Overall, it puts less onus on the state hospital, he said, but doesn’t address the core causes of the delays at the state hospital and the impact to the local criminal justice system in terms of handling defendants with mental health conditions.

Racki said state law has always allowed for community-based fitness to proceed evaluations and the state has promoted its portal through which county attorneys can find providers the state will pay for.

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The problem, Racki said, is there are few providers in Cascade County and most won’t perform those evaluations due to the low rate of pay offered by the state.

The community-based evaluations still don’t solve the problem either, Racki said, since a defendant found unfit for court still has to wait for a treatment bed at the state hospital.

Other challenges have arisen with inmates faking a lack of fitness to delay criminal proceedings, knowing about the 90 day timeline that could force their cases to be dismissed, Racki said.

As discussed in Gideon’s July 29 hearing, there are different interpretations of whether the recent law change regarding the 90 day timeline applies to cases that were already in progress at the time of the law’s passage.

Racki’s office is arguing that the new law applies moving forward in Gideon’s case, whereas Kuntz, Gideon’s defense attorney, argued in court that the more ameliorative of the two should apply.

The new law provides that if a defendant hasn’t been admitted to the state hospital or otherwise appropriate facility within 90 days to be made fit for proceedings, the county may, through medical staff, involuntarily medicate a defendant.

But, Racki said, if the defendant hadn’t yet been to the state hospital for an evaluation, local providers wouldn’t know what medication was needed.

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It’s possible, Racki said, that the law changes could be helpful in addressing the backlog of criminal proceedings for those needing mental health evaluations or treatment to be fit for court, but there’s no resources to pay for it, which would likely fall to county attorney’s offices.

In April, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced $6.5 million in one-time grant funding “aimed at building sustainable capacity for community-based forensic stabilization services throughout Montana’s local detention centers.”

“Improving access to forensic fitness evaluations and diversifying jail-based services to complement Montana State Hospital’s Forensic Mental Health Facility have been shared goals of the Legislature and Gov. Gianforte’s administration,” DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton said in a release. “DPHHS encourages counties and municipalities to submit innovative proposals as quickly as possible so we can ensure that eligible individuals involved in the legal system have access to forensic stabilization services while remaining in their communities.”

Racki said that his office didn’t pursue any funding through that program as there’s a local lack of staffing and facilities.

It might be helpful in the short-term, he said, but one time grant funds won’t build a sustainable program.

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He looked at options under that grant program and if his office could complete fitness evaluations, they could develop local treatment plans for defendants, including involuntary medication.

But, “we need a provider we don’t have,” Racki said.

Jail medical staff is willing to involuntarily medicate defendants, he said, but the county also lacks space within the jail for such a program.

Legislators passed a bill requiring the state to pay counties for housing inmates awaiting a bed at the state hospital, which has been a fight for Cascade County and this year, the sheriff and county attorney’s have been sending invoices to the state for those costs. Those invoices have gone unpaid and unanswered, according to county officials.

The state sends the county a bill for evaluating and treating defendants and civil commitments at the state hospital.

Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed that action and in a June 12 letter explaining his veto, wrote that the state was making progress in alleviating behavioral health issues in county detention centers by addressing the waitlist at the state hospital.

Gianforte wrote that HB 634 may have been a short-term solution before 2023, “shifts from counties to the state the cost of detaining certain individuals involved in the criminal justice system: those awaiting a court ordered evaluation, those being treated for lack of fitness to proceed, and those sentenced to the custody of the DPHHS upon a finding of Guilty But Mentally Ill, but for whom no beds are available,” at the state hospital.

The bill was projected to cost taxpayers more than $24 million over the next four years, Gianforte wrote.

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“This issue requires a permanent, comprehensive solution, but House Bill 643 only applies an expensive Band-Aid. Fortunately, there are several better solutions the Legislature has approved that will bring us closer to a permanent, comprehensive, cost-effective resolution,” Gianforte wrote, specifying a $14.8 million appropriation for additional beds at the state hospital, creating a stepdown unit to be able to create bed space in the forensic unit. Gianforte wrote that the construction would free up about 100 beds in the forensic unit, but doesn’t specify when that project will be completed.

Lawmakers also appropriated $26.5 million for a new behavioral health facility to be constructed in eastern Montana, Gianforte wrote.

The governor referenced the DPHHS funding counties can apply for that’s meant to provide stabilization services in county jail, but those programs have done little to address the backlog in Cascade County, Racki said.

“Based on legislative investments outlined above and MSH’s operational changes, DPHHS expects to significantly reduce the waitlist throughout fiscal year 2026. Shorter waitlists reduce counties’ ‘holdover’ detention burden, making House Bill 643 unnecessary,” Gianforte wrote.

In mid-July, lawmakers voted to override Gianforte’s veto, appropriating $6 million for the state to reimburse counties for those costs.

The Electric sent questions regarding the backlog, challenges faced by the state hospital and options for addressing the issue in July but has not yet received a response.

As of Aug. 1, there are four inmates in the Cascade County Adult Detention Center who have been sentenced to DPHHS but are awaiting transport. Three have been in the county jail for 345-374 days, according to the county attorney’s office.  One has been in jail for 146 days, but that’s since being returned after previous incarceration.

Another three inmates are awaiting beds at the state hospital to be restored to fitness for criminal proceedings.

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Late last year, the tension over the backlog at the Montana State Hospital and its impact to local criminal cases bubbled to the Montana Supreme Court after Judge John Parker ordered the DPHHS director to appear in court and address the backlog.

DPHHS protested and Parker allowed a representative of DPHHS to appear, but a number of documents were filed at the state level.

In a January response to DPHHS’ request for a writ of supervisory control at the Montana Supreme Court, the Cascade County Attorney’s office listed multiple cases that have been delayed or dismissed due to delays in admission at the state hospital:

• State of Montana v. Logan Severson, found unfit to proceed Sept. 18, 2024 and awaiting admission to the hospital. Delay is 104 days as of Jan. 3.
• State of Montana v. Justania Javene Windyboy, found unfit to proceed June 11, 2024. Delay is 203 days as of Jan. 3.
• State of Montana v. Gregory Andrew LaPlant, found unfit to proceed June 6, 2024. Delay is 208 days as of Jan. 3.
• State of Montana v. Michael Joseph George, found unfit to proceed July 30, 2024. Delay is 154 days as of Jan. 3.
• State of Montana v. Gregory Andrew LaPlant, found unfit Aug. 5, 2024. Delay is 148 days as of Jan. 3.
• State of Montana v. Jeremiah Gideon, found unfit Oct. 10, 2024. Delay is 87 days as of Jan. 3.

Severson has since been sentenced to DPHHS and among the four awaiting transport.

George is among the three awaiting a bed at the state hospital to be restored to fitness.

In late January, Judge John Parker dismissed LaPlant’s 2024 assault charge due to the state hospital delays, but he had two other pending cases at the time, according to the county attorney’s office.

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The county attorney’s office listed the cases in its response that have been dismissed due to delays in admission to the state hospital:

• State of Montana v. Shyla Hanway, found unfit on Oct. 20, 2020, based upon a diagnosis of disorganized schizophrenia and the district court dismissed the proceedings with prejudice on March 9, 2021. The delay in the case was 140 days.
• State of Montana v. Shyla Hanway, found unfit on Aug. 31, 2021 and dismissed without prejudice on Nov. 24, 2021. Despite being transferred to the Montana State Hospital, Hanway was not made fit within a reasonable period of time. The delay was 85 days.
• State of Montana v. Shyla Hanway, found unfit on April 13, 2022 and dismissed with prejudice on Dec. 30, 2022. The delay was 251 days.
• State of Montana v. Daniel Joseph Hartzell, found unfit on June 22, 2021 and dismissed without prejudice on Sept. 28, 2021. The delay was 98 days.
• State of Montana v. Timothy Jay Fowler, Jr., found unfit on Aug. 31, 2023, the transport was not done prior to a fitness hearing on Nov. 15, 2023, and Fowler remained 20 on the list. Dismissed in April 2024. Delay in transport to MSH was at least 76 days.
• State of Montana v. Paula Yvette Gopher-Arocha. Gopher-Arocha allegedly violated probation and a petition to revoke was filed.  Gopher-Arocha filed a motion to find her unfit and the court heard testimony from two different evaluators. The court found her unfit and ordered her transported to the state hospital on Sept. 11, 2024. The district court dismissed the proceedings on Dec. 10, 2024, with prejudice based upon the delay in transporting her, finding that the delay violated her rights. She was transported to the state hospital on Nov. 19, 2024 on a Toole County case a week after an unfit finding in that court. The delay in transport in the Cascade County case was 89 days.
• State of Montana v. Christopher Rolfs, found unfit and ordered transport to the state hospital on May 17, 2024. There was a possibility of him being made fit within a reasonable period of time, but he was not transported to MSH as ordered and the district court dismissed the proceedings on Aug. 15, 2024. The delay was 90 days without Rolfs being transported.

“Parker has attempted in other proceedings to obtain a commitment from [DPHHS} to remedy the ongoing crisis at the Montana State Hospital, without success as evidenced by these proceedings,” the county wrote in its January response to the Montana Supreme Court.

The backlog has come down slightly, since a few more cases have been dismissed since that January filing due to delays at the state hospital, rather than improvements to the system, according to the county attorney’s office.