Request For Judgment Made In Headdress Case
After Roosevelt County sheriff candidate Wesley Headdress failed to reply to a complaint in District Count within the required 21 days, Roosevelt County resident and Northern Plains Independent
publisher Darla Downs filed a request for motion for summary judgment last week.
Downs is requesting that Headdress be declared ineligible to be elected sheriff, the election administrator remove Headdress from the ballot and that the election administrator disregard any votes cast for Headdress for sheriff.
According to Montana Code Annotated 7-32-2133, a person is not eligible for the position of sheriff at the time of election or appointment unless the individual has not been convicted of a crime for which the person could have been imprisoned in a federal or state penitentiary. Headdress’ qualifications for holding the office is in question because he was convicted of felony theft in Fort Peck tribal court in 2020.
In addition, Montana Code Annotated reads that a person is not eligible to hold the sheriff’s position unless the individual is eligible to receive and disseminate criminal justice information through the Criminal Justice Information Network. An elected or appointed sheriff who fails to obtain access to the criminal justice information network forfeits office for failure to satisfactorily meet the qualifications required of a sheriff. Montana’s Criminal Justice Information Network’s guidelines note that a security waiver is required whenever a terminal agency discovers an individual has a felony arrest, even if the disposition is missing, deferred or dismissed, or a felony conviction, even if the disposition is missing, deferred or dismissed, or has three or more misdemeanor convictions in the last 10 years excluding dismissed records.
The office will be decided during the general election in November. Jason Baker is the other filed candidate for sheriff.
Since Downs filed the original complaint against Headdress on Friday, May 22, Headdress stated on social media that he was dropping out of the race. The Roosevelt County Clerk and Recorders’ office reports that Headdress has not officially withdraw from the election.
