Local judge sits with Montana Supreme Court

A Flathead District Court judge had the honor of sitting in the place of a justice in the state’s highest court in December.

The Honorable Heidi Ulbricht sat in the place of retiring Montana Supreme Court Justice Patricia Cotter on Dec. 7, to hear the case of a woman in Cascade County who was cleared of homicide charges in the 2014 death of her infant daughter, but convicted of felony assault on a minor.

At the center of the case is whether or not the woman’s confessions of shaking the child should have been admitted as evidence.

“It is now known that 6-month-old Brooklynn was killed by a single blow to the skull and that there is absolutely no medical evidence of shaking or of historical abuse by her mother, Ms. (Jasmine) Eskew,” attorney Koan Mercer wrote in the appeal. “It is also now known that Brooklynn died within two and a half weeks of Ms. Eskew’s new boyfriend, Greg Robey, coming into the family’s life and that Mr. Robey’s past abusive conduct evidenced a motive to discipline small children with violence.”

The Montana Innocence Project, which is housed in the University of Montana law school, is working on Eskew’s behalf in the case. The project has handled several high profile cases involving possible exoneration of defendants.

Ulbricht, who has been a district court judge since 2013, said she appreciates being asked to sit with the state’s highest court.

“I am honored that I was asked to sit with the Supreme Court,” Ulbricht said. “This experience reassured me of the quality of work being done by our Supreme Court justices.”

Ulbricht has served as district judge since 2013. Previously she was the Kalispell Municipal Court judge for 18 years, where she implemented a court for cases involving driving under the influence and drug cases. She also implemented the Domestic Violence Accountability Court.

An opinion in the case is still pending. All Montana Supreme Court opinions can be viewed as they are released at http://courts.mt.gov/Portals/113/orders/Recent_Orders.htm.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.