State v. E. Ghostbear, 459 P.3d 1285

In Jan. 2012 Ghostbear was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and alternatively sexual assault; the alleged victim was his then-girlfriend’s seven‑year‑old daughter.
During voir dire Juror G stated she was inclined to believe a child witness because the child “came this far” to testify.
Defense moved to strike Juror G for cause; the State sought to rehabilitate; Juror G reiterated a predisposition to believe the child but said her view “may change depending on what [she] heard.”
The district judge asked whether Juror G could be fair; she said she would try but likely could not, and that it “would be hard” to be sure after hearing all evidence.
The court denied the for‑cause challenge; defense used a peremptory to remove Juror G and then exhausted peremptories. The jury convicted Ghostbear of sexual assault.
The Montana Supreme Court reversed, holding the denial of the for‑cause challenge was error and remanding for a new trial.

Issue	State's Argument	Ghostbear's Argument	Held
Whether the district court erred in denying a for‑cause challenge to Juror G	Juror G could be rehabilitated and would follow evidence and instructions	Juror G’s repeated statements showed she was predisposed to believe the child and could not be impartial	Reversed: juror should have been removed for cause
Whether the erroneous denial requires reversal/remand	Any error was not reversible (or not dispositive)	Denial of a legitimate for‑cause challenge is structural and requires automatic reversal	Reversal and remand for new trial (structural error)

State v. Anderson, 446 P.3d 1134 (Mont. 2019) (abuse‑of‑discretion standard for for‑cause denial)
State v. Russell, 411 P.3d 1260 (Mont. 2018) (denial of valid for‑cause challenge is structural error requiring reversal)
State v. Good, 43 P.3d 948 (Mont. 2002) (jurors who believe a young sexual‑abuse victim won’t lie demonstrate disqualifying bias)
State v. Johnson, 437 P.3d 147 (Mont. 2019) (constitutional right to an impartial jury; statutory grounds for for‑cause removal)
State v. Jay, 298 P.3d 396 (Mont. 2013) (give greater weight to spontaneous juror statements than rehabilitated recantations)