David Burgert, currently in prison on federal weapons violations, is entitled to a court-appointed attorney as he appeals his conviction on two misdemeanors from Kalispell Municipal Court.

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that Burgert has no money for a lawyer and should be appointed an attorney at no cost when the case is heard in District Court.

Burgert is the leader of the Project 7 militia group that amassed illegal machine guns. He is serving 10 years in federal prison for possessing illegal weapons and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Unrelated to that, Burgert was convicted on July 2, 2002, by a jury in Kalispell Municipal Court of obstructing an officer and resisting arrest.

He hired former Kalispell attorney Don Vernay to represent him at trial.

Afterward, he hired Polson attorney Rebecca Dupuis to appeal the verdict to Flathead County District Court, where District Judge Ted Lympus has called the case "a legal quagmire."

On Aug. 12, Burgert filed a notice of appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, along with an application that would declare him indigent and in need of legal representation.

On Nov. 10, he asked the court to continue the matter, saying he had to leave his files at the medical center in Minnesota where he is serving his federal sentence. He was back in federal court in Missoula on Nov. 12, when he was sentenced on his second set of weapons charges. From there, he expected to be "in transit" under the custody of U.S. prison officials and would return ultimately to Minnesota to serve out the remainder of his term.

Because of that, the Supreme Court granted Burgert's motion to delay filing an opening brief on the appeal.

Besides his appeal on the city court case, Burgert has filed multimillion lawsuits against federal, state, and local officials, saying they have violated his civil rights in a multitude of ways.

In August 2003, he also appealed a separate conviction of bail jumping, but later asked that his appeal be dismissed. He had pleaded guilty to that felony in October 2002; charges of obstructing an officer and assault on a officer were dismissed in exchange for the guilty plea. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with the entire term suspended.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at [email protected]