Location
Montana - Federal
Details
Woman admits distribution of 12 pounds of 100% pure, unadulterated methamphetamine and firearm.
Result
Probation
Location
Montana
Details
Man convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography.
Result
Case to be dismissed after successful completion of treatment and probation.
Location
Montana
Details
Man accused of incest, molesting his 6 y/o daughter.
Result
Dismissed two weeks prior to trial.
Location
Montana - Federal
Details
Woman convicted of possession of over a pound of cocaine in federal jurisdiction.
Result
Probation
Location
Montana
Details
Father admits stabbing his son in the chest and hand.
Result
Acquittal on self defense.
Location
Montana
Details
Black man accused of kidnapping and raping white hotel employee, community calls for public hanging, two jurors walk out of jury selection because they “can’t be fair to a black man”.
Result
Acquittal.
Location
Montana
Details
Man admits scalding his girlfriend’s baby.
Result
Acquittal.
Location
Montana
Details
Man shot son in his chest, nearly killing him.
Result
No charges. Bullet still in son’s chest.
Location
Montana
Details
Man arrested for transporting meth into Indian territory, dog sniff located drugs in vehicle.
Result
State dismissed after defense filed motion challenging dog’s credibility.
Location
Montana
Details
Activist shut down Alberta tar sands oil pipeline, allegedly causing $250,000 in damages, admitted action as part of a larger political statement.
Result
No jail, $2,500 fine, and dismiss case after 18 months of good behavior. (On appeal)
Location
Montana
Details
Man accused of double assault with a weapon, for pointing and discharging shotgun at two would-be assailants. Client went through four lawyers over two years before hiring Watson Law shortly before trial. Defense then located critical evidence in the State evidence locker, existence of which was previously formally denied by State. Video surveillance proved the client's innocence.
Result
State dismissed at pretrial conference.
Location
Montana
Details
Foreign national arrested for transporting $1,500,000 in contraband through Eastern Montana
Result
No jail deal with $17,500 fine, case to be dismissed after 3 years of good behavior.
Location
California
Details
Rastafarian men pulled over for “speeding”, 100 pounds of marijuana and plants seized from the bed of a pickup.
Result
State dismissed for lack of evidence after defense raised issues related to profiling.
Location
California
Details
Man arrested for trying to transport 13 pounds of marijuana in his carry-on at Oakland Airport.
Result
State dismissed upon defense motion challenging TSA’s authority to search carry-on for drugs. TSA mandate allows searches related to transportation security, while search for contraband violated the client's 4th Amendment right. Marijuana returned to the client as “personal amount.”
Location
Montana
Details
Elderly man accused of molesting six girls and charged with several felonies, many of which carried potential life sentences.
Result
State dismissed all charges after jury arrived for selection, on the basis that several girls recanted, saying allegations were made to get attention. Equivocations were under-reported in discovery, but discovered by the defense during investigation. Aggressive investigation undermined witness’ credibility.
Location
Montana
Details
Client charged with cocaine possession.
Result
Dismissed in front of jury when state crime lab chemist reluctantly admitted to an examination of the wrong drugs.
Location
Montana
Details
Client charged with five counts of armed robbery. Co-defendants testify against him, in exchange for leniency.
Result
Acquittals on four counts and a hung jury on the fifth as a result of catching the prosecutor in a lie, resulting in a loss of credibility by the prosecution.
Location
Montana
Details
Client shoots husband’s girlfriend off husband’s lap. Bullet enters her neck, exits the back, near the spine. Attempted murder charged.
Result
Client pleads to criminal endangerment, receives house arrest based on evidence of a drug interaction.
Location
Montana
Details
Client murders girlfriend in a manner approximating torture, all on an open 911 line. State seeks death penalty.
Result
Murder charge dismissed. Client pleads to the equivalent of voluntary manslaughter.
Location
Montana
Details
Drifter charged with kidnap/murder. State seeks death penalty.
Result
Murder charge dismissed. Client pleads to kidnapping following the state’s polygraph expert taking the Fifth on an ethics matter. Used polygraph evidence to convince prosecutor of client’s limited role in the murder.
Location
Montana
Details
Thirty-year veteran sex crimes investigator snaps, begins to groom a fourteen-year-old; attempts a sexual relationship.
Result
Four felony sex crimes dismissed, client pleads to evidence tampering, receives fifteen days house arrest.
Location
Montana
Details
Elected county sheriff charged with sexual assault.
Result
Acquittal. Against a prosecutor who had reputedly not lost a case in twenty-two years.
Location
Montana
Details
18-year-old car wash employee charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery and theft resulting from alleged attack on a popular elderly man in a botched burglary and safe-cracking attempt.
Result
Two trials. One hung jury, one conviction. Twelve-year sentence. While on appeal, hired an investigator and located the true culprit. The Supreme Court unanimously reversed on newly discovered evidence. The retired head of the FBI fingerprint lab, consulted for the Defense.
Location
Montana
Details
Client charged with twenty-five residential burglaries, several counts rustling and illegal branding.
Result
Filed Fourth Amendment challenge resulting in plea to one count each, burglary, theft and illegal branding with thirty-day jail sentence.
Location
Wyoming
Details
Deliberate Homicide charged as a result of two pistol slugs being fired into sleeping husband’s brain. Client walked down to the police station in her nightgown, confessed to premeditated murder.
Result
Despite confession, plea negotiation resulted in charge reduction to voluntary manslaughter, with a chance of parole in three to four years, based on a possible drug interaction defense.
Location
Montana
Details
Student charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery.
Result
Charges amended: no jail deal.
Location
Montana
Details
Another lawyer’s client pled guilty and received a ten-year sentence on a bad check charge.
Result
After eight months, appeal made, case reversed and dismissed.
Location
USA
Details
Client robbed museums in 26 states over 35 years. Millions in losses.
Result
No jail deal.
Location
Montana
Details
Doctor charged with Vicodin theft from emergency room.
Result
Cleared of charges.
Location
Georgia
Details
19-year-old Virgin Island Rastafarian charged with murdering 19-year-old college baseball star in small southern town. Trial heavily attended by the Ku Klux Klan.
Result
Acquittal. Services offered pro bono to client with no friends or family in the US and to prevent what was likely to be a legal lynching. Received NAACP Criminal Justice Award for successful pro bono representation. Being threatened by the Ku Klux Klan was a fringe benefit.
Location
Montana
Details
Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner accused of threats of gun-related violence against a female prosecutor.
Result
No charges or prosecution resulting from pre-charge negotiations with the Attorney General’s Office. Client sent the alleged victim a nice apology on Tiffany stationery.
Location
Montana
Details
Largest drug case in Montana history: 20,000 lbs of marijuana; 160 lbs of cocaine.
Result
Client will walk after serving around five years.
Location
Canada
Details
Largest drug case in history of Canada: 2,500 lbs. of cocaine, 1.2 million ecstasy tablets.
Result
Client served three years.
Location
Montana
Details
Indian boy tried as an adult for felony assault with a weapon, spurred by chronic bullying from a group of white boys at school. Petition to remove the case to juvenile court denied, despite statistical proof of systemic racism against Indian youth being tried as adults statewide. Sentencing presentation highlighted multiple attempts by victims to isolate and confront our client to the extent that he maintained an imperfect self defense claim.
Result
Sentencing deferred for a period of 6 years, pending dismissal. No jail.
Location
Montana
Details
Foreign exchange student prosecuted as an adult for felony sexual assault in Small Town, Montana, on allegations of bleeding caused by vaginal injury. Private investigation and incident reconstruction led to the alleged victim recanting in part, significantly impacting her credibility. “Vaginal injury” redefined as normal cycle bleeding with no signs of physical trauma.
Result
Case dismissed.
