Today in Helena

Government

The Ellsworth Saga Dominated the Courthouse — and Then the Judge Threw It Out

If you followed the Lewis and Clark County courthouse this week, you watched one of the more dramatic legal whipsaws in recent Montana political memory. The week opened with jurors convicting former Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth of misdemeanor official misconduct — the culmination of a trial in which state procurement officials testified that Ellsworth pressured them to rush contracts around normal oversight. Then, days later, a Lewis and Clark County district judge threw out the verdict after it emerged that jurors had seen sealed exhibits they were never supposed to see. That means the conviction is gone, at least for now, and what comes next — retrial, dismissal, appeal — remains unclear. For Helena residents, the case is a reminder of how fragile a verdict can be when procedural errors creep in, and it raises real questions about whether the former Senate president will ever face a final legal reckoning. Ellsworth's name appeared across multiple daily editions this week, making him the dominant figure in local government coverage.