Nearly all charging documents from the quadruple homicide case stemming from an August shooting at the Owl Bar in Anaconda will be made public on May 8, following a district court order that resolved months of legal dispute over public access to criminal records. Michael Brown has been charged with four counts of deliberate homicide in connection with the deaths of four Anaconda residents on Aug. 1 at the Owl Bar. A week-long manhunt followed the shooting, drawing in local, state, and multiple federal law enforcement agencies.

Records in the case were sealed almost immediately after charges were filed — an unusual step in Montana, where criminal proceedings are generally presumed open to the public. A coalition of news organizations, including the Daily Montanan, Montana Free Press, the Montana Newspaper Association, the Montana Broadcasters Association, Lee Enterprises, and the Montana Freedom of Information Coalition, filed suit in January seeking to unseal the records.

In February, Deer Lodge County District Court Judge Jeffrey Dahood denied the coalition's initial motion. The coalition then appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. In its filings, the coalition argued that no evidence had been presented showing that disclosure of the records would jeopardize Brown's right to a fair trial.

The May 8 unsealing date follows Dahood's order resolving the matter at the district court level. Residents of Anaconda and surrounding communities who have followed the case since last summer will be able to review the charging documents for the first time when the records become public.