Kalispell Civil Rights Lawyers

Kalispell, MontanaKalispell Civil Rights

Kalispell Civil Rights Lawyers: Jail Deaths, In-Custody Injuries and Excessive Force Claims in Flathead County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

If someone was seriously injured or died in custody in Flathead County, or was hurt by excessive force from police or corrections officers, the family or the injured person may have a civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, along with claims under Montana law. These cases are usually heard in federal court in Missoula. They turn on evidence, such as jail video and cell-check logs, that must be preserved quickly.

Lost a family member in custody, or hurt by excessive force? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Which agencies and facilities are involved in Flathead County cases?

Several agencies can detain or use force on people in and around Kalispell. The agency matters because it decides who the defendants are, which notice rules apply and which court hears the case.

• The Flathead County Detention Center. The county jail is operated by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office at 920 South Main Street, Suite 100, in the Flathead County Justice Center. It opened in October 1987 with room for 63 people and has 154 beds after a 2018 expansion. Most people held there have not been convicted. They are pretrial detainees awaiting a hearing or trial, and that affects the legal standard.
• City police. The Kalispell Police Department, the Whitefish Police Department and the Columbia Falls Police Department make arrests inside their cities and may hold people briefly before transfer to the county jail.
• The Montana Highway Patrol, which has its District VI headquarters in Kalispell, makes highway stops and arrests.
• Federal officers. Inside Glacier National Park, National Park Service rangers carry out law enforcement. Claims against federal officers follow different and generally narrower rules than § 1983 claims against local officers.
• Tribal authorities. The southern half of Flathead Lake and the land south of the county line are within the Flathead Indian Reservation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. East of Glacier National Park is the Blackfeet Reservation. Events involving tribal police or tribal detention raise distinct jurisdictional questions. Our attorneys are not admitted in tribal courts, but we can seek admission when a case requires it.

We do not presume wrongdoing by any agency or officer. We investigate what happened and follow the evidence.

What happens after a death or serious injury in custody in Kalispell?

The first days matter most. Jail and body-camera video, cell-check logs, booking and suicide-screening forms, medical records and radio traffic can be overwritten or lost on short retention schedules. We send written preservation demands to the Sheriff’s Office, the county and any contracted medical provider right away.

The coroner and records. In Flathead County, the coroner function sits within the Sheriff’s Office. For a death in custody, an independent autopsy and an early request for the investigative file are often important. Serious in-custody injuries are typically treated at Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, and those hospital records are evidence too.

Government claim rules. A state-law claim against Flathead County or the City of Kalispell must be presented in writing to the entity’s clerk (§ 2-9-301, MCA). State-law damages against local governments are capped at $750,000 per claim and $1.5 million per occurrence (§ 2-9-108, MCA). Federal § 1983 claims are governed by federal law.

Court. Civil rights cases from Flathead County are usually filed in, or removed to, the U.S. District Court’s Missoula Division, at the Russell Smith Courthouse, 201 East Broadway, Missoula. State-law claims can be joined in the federal case, or filed in the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Justice Center in Kalispell. Appeals go to the Ninth Circuit or the Montana Supreme Court.

Montana and federal law that applies

In brief; see our Montana civil rights and jail death lawyer page for the full treatment.

• Section 1983. Anyone who, acting under state authority, deprives a person of constitutional rights is liable (42 U.S.C. § 1983). A prevailing plaintiff may recover attorney’s fees (§ 1988).
• Pretrial detainees. Excessive force is judged by whether it was objectively unreasonable (Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015)). In the Ninth Circuit, medical-care claims are judged by an objective deliberate-indifference standard (Gordon v. County of Orange (9th Cir. 2018)).
• County liability requires the county’s own policy, custom or failure to train (Monell, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)). Individual officers may raise qualified immunity (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)).
• Montana’s Constitution protects individual dignity and forbids cruel and unusual punishments (Art. II, § 4; § 22).
• Deadlines. Generally 3 years for § 1983 and wrongful-death claims, and 2 years for state-law assault, battery and false-imprisonment claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA).

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Kalispell case?

Civil rights cases against counties are fought in federal court, often through appeals before trial on qualified immunity. We are based in Great Falls and handle civil rights cases across Montana. We travel to Kalispell for records, witnesses and depositions, and to Missoula for federal hearings and trial. We do not have a Kalispell office.

The Boland Aarab Way

• We have held a county accountable for a death in custody. In Estate of Alexander v. Cascade County, we brought § 1983 and wrongful-death claims in federal court and obtained a $550,000 settlement (case summary).
• We know federal and appellate court. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
• We try cases against public bodies. We won a $115,000 net jury verdict in a municipal negligence case (Jack v. City of White Sulphur Springs).
• We are part of the trial bar. AAJ and MTLA members. Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.

We also handle wrongful death cases in Kalispell and medical malpractice cases in Kalispell. See our Kalispell personal injury page.

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our family member died at the Flathead County Detention Center. What should we do first? Ask for a lawyer’s help preserving evidence right away. Video and logs can be lost quickly. The family may have § 1983, survival and wrongful-death claims.

Would the case be heard in Kalispell? Usually in federal court in Missoula, which covers Flathead County. State-law claims can sometimes be filed in the Eleventh Judicial District Court in Kalispell.

Can we sue Flathead County, or only the officers? Both, in some cases. The county is liable under § 1983 only for its own policies, customs or failures to train. Officers can be sued for their own conduct, subject to qualified immunity.

The incident happened on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Does that change things? It can. Tribal jurisdiction, and which officers were involved, affect which court hears the case. We are not admitted in tribal courts but can seek admission.

How long do we have? Generally 3 years for § 1983 and wrongful-death claims, and 2 years for some state-law claims. Evidence should be preserved immediately.

Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.