Trial date set in Brossman kid-porn case

Libby resident Rodney Lee Brossman will stand trial April 18, 2016, in the Russell Smith Courthouse in Missoula, unless a plea arrangement is made before April 7, according to documents filed with the court.

Brossman was indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 21, 2016, on one felony charge of possession of child pornography and one felony charge of distribution of child pornography. Brossman appeared in court Feb. 9 and entered pleas of not guilty on both counts.

The scheduling order, entered Feb. 17, by Chief District Judge Dana Christensen, requires all motions in the case to be filed by March 11 and establishes the deadline for a plea agreement between federal prosecutors and Brossman as April 7, 2016. 

The court assigned Brossman’s case to Criminal Justice Act panel attorney Peter Lacny of the Missoula firm of Datsoupoulos, MacDonald & Lind. CJA panel attorneys are the federal equivalent of the public defender’s office. Lacny was appointed Feb. 9 to represent Brossman, who had filed an affidavit requesting representation. Judge Jeremiah Lynch determined Brossman did not have the financial ability to retain his own counsel and appointed Lacny as counsel for the duration of the proceedings.