Dasen asks Supreme Court to take control

Attorney George Best has asked the Montana Supreme Court to intervene in the prostitution case of Dick Dasen Sr., weeks before the trial is to begin.

Best filed a motion with the high court Wednesday, asking for what District Judge Stewart Stadler has twice denied him: Favorable rulings that would dismiss charges against Dasen for lack of a speedy trial or would suppress almost all evidence in the case.

"This court must accept jurisdiction to protect Richard A. Dasen from a gross injustice," Best wrote.

Dasen, 62, is scheduled for a trial lasting four to six weeks, beginning on April 25. He's charged with 14 criminal counts relating to prostitution. Police say he spent millions of dollars on sex with women and girls. He faces up to 356 years in prison.

Stadler said Wednesday the court is continuing to operate on the assumption that the trial will continue as scheduled. About 450 residents have been called as prospective jurors in the case.

In his application for writ of supervisory control, Best argues that Stadler has erred in his conclusions of law.

The Supreme Court can agree to review Stadler's rulings or it can refuse the case. Statistically, it will likely be the latter case.

"A small number of writs are actually granted," said Ed Smith, clerk of the Supreme Court in Helena.

He said prosecuting Deputy County Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Lori Adams will have a chance to respond to Best's requests before the court will decide whether it will become involved. Sometimes the Montana Attorney General's Office assists on matters before the Supreme Court.

On Jan. 10, Stadler denied Best's first motions to dismiss the case for lack of speedy trial and to suppress the bulk of evidence, along with other motions. He ruled again Wednesday the same way after Best repeated his motions (see related story).

Best argues that from the time that Dasen was first charged, on Feb. 11, 2004, until the trial, 427 days will have passed. He maintains that the delays were caused by the prosecution and were not shown to be necessary delays.

Stadler has ruled that the delay from a prior trial date in January until April 25 can be attributed to the defense.

A necessary legal element for dismissal of charges because of delays is proof that the defendant has been harmed by the delays. While Dasen has not been in jail, there is no proof that he hasn't suffered anxiety or impairment of his legal defense, Best said. Damage can include interference with his liberty, disruption in employment, a drain on financial resources, curtailment of associations, subjection to public scorn, and anxiety not only for him, but also for his family and friends.

In his request for the Supreme Court to intervene, Best wrote:

"This court can take judicial notice of the nationwide attention this case has had in the national press. Montana taxpayers' money will be saved by the intervention, as well as constitutional rights upheld. There is no reason to impose on more than 450 potential jurors; and, if 12 jurors can be selected from the pool, to impose on them for six or more weeks, when the proper conclusion of law will be made by this court."

Best also hopes that the Supreme Court will find that search warrants used to gather evidence in the case were illegal and that no evidence gathered from them should be used at trial.

Warrants were served on Feb. 11, 2004, at Dasen's West Valley home and at his businesses, Budget Finance and Peak Development in Kalispell.

A description of what Kalispell Police Department officers sought was attached to the search warrants, not actually written into the warrants as required. Prosecutors agreed that those warrants were defective.

Best challenged the legality of the search warrants. While Stadler considered it, police obtained a second warrant, believed to be in the proper form, from District Judge Kitty Curtis.

Police returned items seized during the first search, such as computers and files. They almost immediately reseized them, under authority of the second warrant.

Best characterized the events as a ruse, that included illegal judge shopping when police obtained the second warrant from Curtis. She had been disqualified from the Dasen case and Best questions whether she could sign a search warrant.

He also scoffs at prosecutors' assertions that no evidence obtained in the illegal first warrant was improperly used and points out that some people were excluded from the buildings when they were searched.

He asks the Supreme Court to suppress the evidence now.

"It would be a disservice not only to Dasen but to the taxpayers of Flathead County were this court to arrive at the proper result only after a great deal of unnecessary expense and trauma," he wrote.

Wednesday, the Flathead County Clerk of Court packaged the entire Dasen file for delivery to the Supreme Court.

Smith said the court could decide by next week whether it will involve itself in the case.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com