The Montana Supreme Court has decided that a Sanders County man convicted in 2014 of six counts of felony sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent will remain in prison.

Richard Lee Griffin, 57, had asked for the court to order a new trial for allegations that he had sexually assaulted two girls. Griffin complained that a spectator had interrupted closing arguments at Griffin’s trial. Griffin was sentenced to 80 years in prison in the case.

According to court records the spectator shouted out, “Well I’d like to say that God is faithful and just to those who confess their sins.”

Sanders County District Judge James Manley immediately admonished the person and said that no further outbursts would be acceptable.

Arguments closed and the jury was led out, at which time Manley told the spectator, “And you, young lady, that was a stupid thing to do. That’s the kind of thing that can cause a mistrial and cause everybody to come back here and try this thing again, including flying out a witness from the East Coast. Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. Do you understand?”

Griffin’s attorney appealed to the high court, arguing that the admonishment was not enough to protect Griffin’s right to an unbiased trial.

“The spectator’s outburst eroded not only Mr. Griffin’s presumption of innocence, but also his ability to be judged solely on the evidence presented in open court and subject to confrontation and cross-examination,” Griffin’s attorney Natalie Wicklund wrote. “The speaker invoked a higher religious power, and that this power ‘is faithful and just to those who confess their sins.’ The speaker’s statement directly implicates Mr. Griffin as a ‘sinner’ who should confess, thereby pre-supposing his guilt. The speaker voiced a message to the entire courtroom that Mr. Griffin was guilty. This is an impermissible factor undermining the presumption of innocence.”

The high court disagreed.

“First, the spectator’s remark did not expressly accuse Griffin of a crime or of guilt, and did not imply any extra-judicial knowledge of the facts,” Montana Supreme Court Justice Mike McGrath wrote. “It was more an expression of the spectator’s personal beliefs. Second, it was a brief and isolated event. Third, the District Court responded promptly by chastising and warning the spectator, in the presence of the jury, that her conduct was inappropriate and that further outbursts would not be tolerated.”

The court also found that Manley had appropriately instructed the jury throughout the trial to remember that Griffin was presumed innocent.

“While the spectator’s remark was improper, it was not sufficiently serious that it caused a manifest miscarriage of justice, left unsettled the fundamental fairness of the trial, or compromised the integrity of the judicial system,” McGrath wrote.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.