Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit

Tools

By Kyle Midura

Story Published: Nov 19, 2009 at 7:22 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2009 at 10:02 AM MST

BILLINGS - A federal appeals court rules that Yellowstone County is not responsible for any costs related to the wrongful conviction of a former Billings man.

Jimmy Ray Bromgard was convicted of rape in 1987, 15 years later DNA evidence proved his innocence. He sued the state for violating his rights, and settled for $3.2 million dollars.

He also sued Yellowstone County, but the district court held that the county was not responsible for his defense. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld that ruling.

"Nobody was disagreeing that Mr. Bromgard was wrongfully imprisoned, but the responsibility for that would belong to the state of Montana," said Yellowstone County Attorney Dennis Paxinos, "It's the state's responsibility to provide counsel not individual counties."

Bromgard's attorney said they'll consider their remaining legal options over the next several weeks.

You have indicated this comment should be removed.

Close

The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .

mtLiberal said on Friday, Apr 9 at 10:29 AM

The person who accused Mr. Bromgard should be imprisoned for 15 years. In this case the victom was underage so the parents should share some responsibility and should willing to help compensate.

steelman said on Saturday, Nov 21 at 7:10 AM

i see yellowstone county is trying to pass the buck, they screwed this guys life up, they need to own up to it. i hope he gets 3.2 mill from county and state.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KULR-8 News, Sports, Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Your Weather Authority

Icon
Current Temp 32.0 °F
Fair
Wind : Southwest at
10.4 mph
Humidity : 64 %
Pressure : 30.10 in
More Weather

Party America Sky Cam

More Weather

On Demand

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Links We Like