SUPERIOR — Mineral County Sheriff Ryan Funke was on the other side of the courtroom this week as Mineral County District Court Judge Shane Vannatta weighed misconduct allegations from his service in another Montana county. He ultimately found the allegations not credible.
Since a civil suit three years ago, Sheriff Funke has been battling "Brady" cop allegations.
A "Brady" cop is a law enforcement officer whose conduct leads to credibility questions when they take the stand.
WATCH ZACH VOLHEIM'S FULL REPORT BELOW:
The county attorney has an obligation to investigate any allegations of misconduct that may be significant enough to be considered “Brady” material.
Sheriff Funke's case went before Judge Vannatta in Mineral County District Court on Wednesday.
His case centers on accusations that he failed to read Miranda rights to some individuals in custody while serving as a Lake County deputy in 2015.
But Judge Vannatta found these allegations of misconduct do not rise to the level of "Brady" cop material.
“This court is very familiar with officers who, in the heat of the moment, forget to give a Miranda warning or to routinely suppress those statements. It, yes, has affected the outcome of the trial in some ways because those admissions or confessions are suppressed, but that's why we have those types of motions, hearings, and process. Again, I did not see a persistent and pervasive use of it,” Judge Vannatta said.
For incoming Mineral County attorney, Roy Miller, the hearing itself left him scratching his head.
“This case is, okay, it's weird. It's very weird and it's gone off into areas that I have not seen before despite all the number of cases that I've dealt with,” Miller said.
Wednesday's hearing was open to the public with roughly 100 people sitting in at the beginning. It was closed at times, however, due to privacy concerns with the evidence. Much of the evidence is still sealed.
But ultimately, Judge Vannatta's ruling found that Funke's conduct did not rise to a “Brady” level.
That means no information regarding Funke's past conduct needs to be disclosed to defense attorneys should he ever testify in a criminal case.
