By Perry Backus

A Florence, Montana physician facing 400 felonies was told Wednesday that his case is moving forward whether he finds legal representation or not.

Dr. Chris Christensen appeared without counsel for the second status hearing in three weeks before Ravalli County Judge Jeffrey Langton.

At his last status hearing in January, Christensen told Langton that he planned to file for bankruptcy and then reapply for a public defender.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Christensen said the bankruptcy filing was on hold. He offered a letter from his accountant that stated he would need to reconstruct 2014 tax data before he could proceed with that filing.

Christensen also said he had contacted four lawyers to gather estimates on potential legal costs for his case. Those estimates came back between $150,000 and $500,000.

“I don’t have the means to afford any of those,” Christensen told Langton Wednesday.

Christensen was arrested in August for allegedly providing hundreds of illegal prescriptions to patients, including two who died from an overdose.

Initially, he was appointed a public defender. After reviewing Christensen’s financial records, the Office of the State Public Defender rescinded that appointment about six weeks ago. Langton concurred with that decision following a review of the financial records, saying Christensen “does not even come close” to meeting the definition of “indigent” under the law.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Ravalli County Attorney Bill Fulbright said his office has already extended deadlines due to Christensen’s lack of legal representation.

With the trial set for October, Fulbright said the fact that Christensen remains without legal counsel raises a number of concerns.

“It feels like nothing much has changed in six weeks,” Fulbright said.

Langton told Christensen the case is moving forward whether he has an attorney or not.

“You are, whether you like it or not, your own attorney right now,” Langton said to Christensen. “If it gets down to it, I will expect you to represent yourself.”

Christensen said he had no intention of representing himself in the case. He told the judge that he had been diligent in seeking legal representation, but was under the impression that he needed to file for bankruptcy before he could reapply for a public defender.

“I am not interested in dragging my feet,” Christensen said. “My feet have been held to the fire.”

Christensen was arrested following a 16-month investigation that found his business in Florence operated almost exclusively in cash, earned about $2,500 a day and grossed more than $500,000 annually, according to an affidavit in the case.

The 400 felony charges against Christensen include two counts of negligent homicide that stem from the death of two of his patients who were prescribed methadone.

Christensen, 67, faces a maximum penalty of 388 life sentences, plus 135 years in prison and fines of $20 million. He remains free on a $200,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Christensen also asked for permission to leave the state for two months in June to attend his son’s graduation from Stanford and upcoming marriage.

Christensen said he had already signed a waiver of extradition and surrendered his passport.

Langton granted his request.