Supreme Court halts Lamb legal proceedings

The case against a Whitefish man accused of murdering his boyfriend in 2018 is in limbo after the Montana Supreme Court recently halted legal proceedings.

According to court documents, attorneys from the Flathead County Public Defender’s Office want the Supreme Court to take a look at the 11th District Court judge’s ruling to not dismiss the case after declaring a mistrial.

Ryan Cody Lamb, 35, stood trial in June 2019 on a charge of deliberate homicide in relation to the stabbing death of 31-year-old Ryan Nixon during a sexual encounter Aug. 5, 2018, at a Two Mile Drive apartment complex in Kalispell.

Defense attorneys said Lamb acted in self-defense because he feared for his life after Nixon poked him repeatedly with a fork.

But District Court Judge Robert Allison declared a mistrial June 14 after jurors couldn’t decide on a verdict after 13 hours of deliberations. Jurors first voted 8-4 for not guilty, then 11-1.

Flathead County prosecutors refiled an amended charge of negligent homicide, as well as the original charge of deliberate homicide Aug. 1. Lamb pleaded not guilty Aug. 21 to both the amended and original charges.

Lamb’s attorney, Alisha Backus, filed a number of motions for acquittal, violation of the double jeopardy clause and to dismiss the case for a lack of probable cause.

But Judge Allison, in a series of rulings between Aug. 28 and Sept. 6, denied each motion.

On Sept. 16, Greg Rapkoch of the county Public Defender’s Office filed a petition for writ of supervisory control to appeal Judge Allison’s decision to not dismiss the case on the double jeopardy clause.

According to information from the University of Montana School of Law, the Montana Supreme Court created the writ in 1900 during the middle of the “War of the Copper Kings.” It was intended to allow the court to review otherwise non-appealable rulings by a corrupt Butte district judge, according to School of Law information.

Rapkoch argued that Judge Allison shouldn’t have declared a mistrial. He also wrote that Judge Allison said he couldn’t give the jury other information and never asked what their questions were, although the law does allow a judge to give a jury more legal information in order to help them reach a verdict.

Rapkoch further wrote in his motion that there was an undisclosed jury question that indicated a juror made a conclusion before all the evidence was presented. He maintained the attorneys were never made aware of the question and that the court never addressed it.

The Montana Attorney General’s Office responded to Rapkoch’s motion Oct. 23, with Assistant Attorney General Mardell Ployhar asserting the District Court didn’t abuse its discretion by declaring a mistrial when the jury was deadlocked.

While the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 25, of the Montana Constitution protect citizens from being placed twice in jeopardy for the same offense, a court’s declaration of a mistrial following a hung jury, however, is not an event that terminates jeopardy and prohibits a second trial, according to court documents.

If convicted of felony negligent homicide, Lamb could face up to 20 years in Montana State Prison and a maximum fine of $50,000.

If convicted of deliberate homicide, Lamb may face a prison term of 10 to more than 100 years.

Since the incident involved a dangerous weapon, the offense in either charge is punishable by an additional prison term of two to 10 years.

Lamb remains free on bail.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.