STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. BRIAN DAVID LAIRD, Defendant and Appellant

-- DA 16-0473 STATE OF MONTANA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. BRIAN DAVID LAIRD, Defendant and Appellant. Oral Argument is set for Wednesday, May 1, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in the Strand Union Building, Ballroom A, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, with an introduction to the oral argument beginning at 9:30 a.m. In 1999, Brian Laird’s wife Kathryn drowned in the Afterbay of the Yellowtail Dam at the Bighorn Canyon Reservoir. At the time, it was not determined whether her death was caused by accident, natural causes, suicide, or homicide. An autopsy was not performed until after Kathryn’s body was embalmed. In 2014, Laird was charged with homicide for Kathryn’s death. The case went to trial in 2016. At trial, the State did not present any medical experts to testify about Kathryn’s cause and manner of death. Because the doctor who performed the autopsy was deceased by the time of trial, the court allowed an FBI agent who attended the autopsy to testify about statements the doctor made during the autopsy. Although the defense objected to this as hearsay testimony, the court allowed it for the limited purpose of explaining what the agent did next in his investigation. Over the defense’s objections, the State also showed the jury a graphic autopsy photograph. On appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, Laird argues that he did not receive a fair trial and was wrongfully convicted of homicide. He argues that the State waited 15 years to charge him in this case, during which time witnesses died and evidence was lost. He argues that the court should not have allowed the autopsy photograph into evidence, and should not have allowed the FBI agent to testify about what the doctor said during Kathryn’s autopsy. He also argues that the State did not present enough evidence to prove that Kathryn’s drowning was a homicide.

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