Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/montana-supreme-court/)
Many people have been asking why those of us in the news business want the names of the three Billings police officers disciplined for on-the-job sex (or on-city-property sex) with a Police Department clerk. (more…) Continue Reading →
A Billings man’s attempt to compel the city of Billings and its insurer to release all information relating to a $1.6 million judgment paid to a former police officer has been rejected by the Montana Supreme Court. In an opinion issued Wednesday, six members of the court upheld Yellowstone County District Judge Michael Moses’ summary judgment in favor of the city and its insurer, the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority. (more…) Continue Reading →
The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint against former state Sen. Art Wittich on Monday, charging him with professional misconduct. The complaint, filed with the Commission on Practice of the Montana Supreme Court by Chief Disciplinary Counsel Michael Cotter, stems from Wittich’s trial in 2016, when he was found liable for violations of state campaign finance laws. This past August, the state high court turned down Wittich’s four-part appeal of that decision. (more…) Continue Reading →
A Montana Supreme Court ruling will send back to District Court a lawsuit filed against the city of Billings by a group of current and retired city police officers. The ruling came down Monday, just shy of a year after the city was dinged for more than $2.7 million in back pay, fines and legal fees. The suit was filed in 2009 by 27 police officers, who said the city had incorrectly calculated their longevity pay, going back as far as 1994. (more…) Continue Reading →
The Montana Supreme Court has denied former state Sen. Art Wittich’s four-part appeal of his conviction on charges of violating Montana’s campaign finance laws. Justice Beth Baker said in the 42-page opinion that the high court affirmed all of the District Court judge’s rulings in the case, and it found that former state Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl did nothing illegal in filing the action against Wittich in District Court. (more…) Continue Reading →
We cannot say for certain, but we are willing to bet that a Montana Supreme Court opinion issued Tuesday was the first one ever to bolster its conclusions by referencing the rapper Notorious B.I.G., the hip-hop group N.W.A. and two popular crime dramas, “The Wire” and “Scarface.” The opinion was written by Justice James Shea in an appeal of a Ravalli County District Court ruling in a case involving methamphetamine possession. The appeal was filed by Bruce Anthony Glass, who was handed a five-year sentence on Nov. 19, 2015. The basis of Glass’s appeal was a claim of double jeopardy. Continue Reading →
The Montana Supreme Court has delayed action on a proposed change in the professional code of conduct for lawyers that has drawn hundreds of complaints from people who say the change threatens lawyers’ First Amendment rights. The proposed change comes from the American Bar Association, which adopted it in August. The change considers it professional misconduct for a lawyer to “engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Three weeks ago in this space, I urged readers of Last Best News to vote for Gov. Steve Bullock and Montana Supreme Court candidate Dirk Sandefur, and in favor of Initiative 182, loosening restrictions on medical marijuana. I won’t claim one iota of credit, but I will admit that on an otherwise dismal Election Day, I was buoyed by the victories of Bullock, Sandefur and the proponents of I-182. (more…) Continue Reading →
If I thought it would make the slightest difference, I would urge readers of Last Best News to vote for Hillary Clinton, given the mountain of evidence that Donald Trump is completely unfit to be president. But it appears that Montana voters are going to favor Trump in any case. Fortunately, it appears just as likely that the country as a whole will reject him by a large margin. (more…) Continue Reading →
The two candidates running for the only contested seat on the Montana Supreme Court this year sparred repeatedly during a public forum Thursday over questions of experience and ideological bias. Dirk Sandefur, who was a police officer in Havre for three years and a deputy county attorney for eight years before becoming a Cascade County district judge in 2002, said “there is no substitute for experience.” (more…) Continue Reading →
