Embattled lawyer, no longer on staff with Montana Public Defender, charged with theft
Logo of the Montana Public Defenders (Photo via State of Montana).
A lawyer who admitted she tried to take possession of a house without its owner’s permission is no longer a staff attorney for the Montana Office of the Public Defender.
However, Scotti Ramberg, whose last day with the Missoula office was March 8, is working on contract with the Office of the Public Defender.
In a separate incident, the Missoula County Attorney’s Office charged her this week with misdemeanor theft.
The affidavit of probable cause for the misdemeanor said she asked a security guard to delete a video that recorded the theft — but said she told him she was joking after he said he could not do so.
Ramberg could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In the separate lawsuit last year, a property owner sued Ramberg, then on staff with the Office of the Public Defender, for trying to illegally take his house in Missoula.
The complaint alleged she had set up a couple of limited liability companies and used one of them to illegally record construction liens worth $109,000 against the home.
The lawsuit also alleged Ramberg had taken control of the house, whose property owner lived out of state, and she had rented it out to at least one of her clients in the Office of the Public Defender.
The lawsuit was settled in September 2023, but a court order found Ramberg had admitted to all allegations by failing to answer questions despite being granted multiple extensions by the court.
Through the proceedings, Ramberg remained employed with the state; her 2023 hourly rate was listed as $45.43, or $94,494 annually. The Office of Public Defender earlier told the Daily Montanan it investigates claims that would affect any employee’s ability to ethically practice law.
In March 2024, the Office of Public Defender confirmed Ramberg was no longer a staff employee; a spokesperson was not at liberty to discuss details.
A theft investigation separate from the lawsuit took place in late 2023 and early 2024, and a case report from the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office recommended Ramberg be charged with felony theft.
The County Attorney’s Office charged her this week with misdemeanor theft, and an affidavit of probable cause outlines the events leading up to the charge:
On Dec. 22, 2023, Ramberg and her ex-husband were in a contentious court hearing, and after the hearing, her ex left the courtroom but forgot his cellphone and wallet on the table, the court document said.
Ramberg crossed to the table where he had been sitting, took his phone and wallet, and threw them in the garbage with a coffee cup, “causing it to make an audible bang,” the affidavit said.
The case report described the stolen property as the phone and $500 in cash.
The bailiff saw her throw the items away, retrieved them, and gave them to the court clerk, the affidavit said. It said the ex returned to the courtroom soon after and collected his belongings.
“Many days later … Ramberg approached the security desk in the Missoula County Courthouse and asked if the courthouse was covered by cameras,” said the affidavit. “Ramberg also asked if there was a recording from December 22, 2023.”
A security officer confirmed the system had recorded the incident.
“Ramberg then described the incident to the security guard, that the video incriminated her, and asked the security guard to delete the recording,” the affidavit said. “The security guard responded that he could not delete the recording, and even if he could, he would not.”
The guard said she could request a copy of it from the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, according to the court record.
“Ramberg then stared at the security guard with a blank look on her face and after a few seconds, informed the security guard that she was just joking and walked away,” the affidavit said.
The Office of the Public Defender did not respond to questions Wednesday or Thursday regarding Ramberg’s contract or her caseload for the state. A standard memorandum of understanding lawyers sign with the Office of the Public Defender requires contractors to notify managers of any discipline imposed by courts, criminal charges or client complaints.
In emails, Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings said his office typically seeks outside special prosecutors when there are allegations against people who regularly work with his office. However, he said it has been increasingly more difficult to get assistance from other agencies.
He said his office asked three other agencies to take the case against Ramberg to avoid any appearance of a conflict. Two declined and another did not respond to the request, so he said his office is keeping it.
In an email Wednesday, Jennings also said there is no legal conflict, but “we just have lots of cases where she is the defense attorney.” He said the charge was filed Tuesday, although he did not believe Ramberg had yet been served.
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