Justia Civil Rights Opinion Summaries

Jon Krakauer, a journalist and resident of Colorado, published a book chronicling instances of alleged sexual misconduct on or near the Missoula campus of the University of Montana. This case involved Krakauer’s request for release of certain student records related to one instance of allegations of sexual assault. The Commissioner of Higher Education denied Krakauer’s request, and Krakauer filed a petition in the district court citing the right to know under the Montana Constitution. The district court granted summary judgment to Krakauer and ordered the Commissioner to make available for inspection the requested records. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and state statute provide an exception for release of information pursuant to a lawfully issued court order; and (2) the records at issue in this case appear to fall under the “personally identifiable information” protection granted by FERPA. Remanded for further proceedings. View "Krakauer v. Comm’n of Higher Educ." on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute with a persistent felony offender designation. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized in the search of his car, asserting that the arresting officers lacked a particularized suspicion of wrongdoing involving narcotics sufficient to justify a canine sniff of his car. The district court denied the motion. Defendant entered a plea agreement admitting to the charges but reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under the facts of this case, the district court did not err in determining that there was particularized suspicion to support the canine search of Defendant’s car. View "State v. Marino" on Justia Law

In September 2013, Defendant was arrested for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia and was jailed for more than ten months while he awaited testing results from the State Crime Lab. Trial was finally held at the end of July 2014. By then, Defendant had been incarcerated for 309 days. Before trial, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the case for lack of a speedy trial. The district court denied the motion. The jury subsequently found Defendant guilty of both charges. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court erred in denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial because he did not receive protection of his constitutional right to a speedy trial. View "State v. Velasquez" on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with escape in Powell County. The State later stipulated that venue was proper in Yellowstone County. The Powell County District Court subsequently granted the State’s motion to dismiss the escape charge and dismissed the case without prejudice. Nearly seven months later, the State filed the escape charges in Yellowstone County. Before trial, Defendant moved to dismiss the case for lack of a speedy trial, alleging that his right to a speedy trial had attached upon his initial appearance on the Powell County charge. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Defendant’s right to a speedy trial had not attached until the charges were re-filed in Yellowstone County. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court erred in calculating the length of the delay, as the speedy trial clock began running when charges first were filed in Powell County; (2) the time period from the dismissal of the charge initially filed against Defendant in Powell County to the filing of the charge in Yellowstone County is not counted for purposes of determining the length of the delay; and (3) the delay in this case did not establish a constitutional speedy trial violation. View "State v. Butterfly" on Justia Law

In 2014, the Bozeman City Commission adopted the Nondiscrimination Ordinance 1890, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression by landlords, providers of public accommodations, and parties engaged in residential real estate transactions. Petitioners, certain Bozeman residents, filed suit against the City of Bozeman, the Commission, and the City Commissioners (collectively, Respondents) seeking a declaration that the Ordinance is invalid as a matter of law. The district court dismissed the complaint on the ground that Petitioners did not present a justiciable case or controversy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not err in denying Petitioners’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing their complaint based on the conclusion that Petitioners were requesting an advisory opinion; and (2) did not abuse its discretion in denying Petitioners’ motion for reconsideration and to amend. View "Arnone v. City of Bozeman" on Justia Law

Defendant pled guilty to felony burglary. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant and erred in denying his motion to suppress statements he made to law enforcement officers. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found in his home pursuant to a search warrant; and (2) the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress statements he made while in custody and statements he made while being interrogated. View "State v. Kasparek" on Justia Law

In 1990, Gregg and her four-year-old son, Aaron, moved into Hanson’s home. They moved out in 1992. After they broke up, Gregg became concerned about Aaron's nightmares and anger, bed-wetting, locking the door when he bathed, and hiding when someone came to the door. Gregg contacted Detective Lamb, who interviewed Aaron, who testified that he and Hanson would shower together and wash each other’s genital areas and that Aaron performed oral sex on Hanson. Hanson was convicted of sexual assault and deviate sexual conduct, MCA 45-5-502(1); 45-5-505(1), and sentenced to 20 years.The Montana Supreme Court affirmed. After his pro se petition for state post-conviction relief was rejected, Hanson’s federal habeas petition was dismissed as procedurally defaulted. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in 2003. In 2012, by counsel, Hanson sought a hearing on "newly discovered evidence" that potential witnesses had contacted Lamb (now deceased) and told her Gregg was lying; Lamb told these witnesses “to stay away” and did not inform Hanson’s attorney. The petition claimed voicemails left by Gregg should have been played for the jury because they indicated she was angry with Hanson for ending their relationship. Because of a warrant for his arrest, Hanson failed to appear for three scheduled depositions. The district court dismissed Hanson’s petition. The Montana Supreme Court affirmed, noting that Hanson had been warned of the possible sanction and the prejudice to the state. View "Hanson v. State" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count each of sexual intercourse without consent, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of children. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court abused its discretion by failing to conduct an adequate inquiry into his request for substitute counsel and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Defendant’s request for substitute counsel, and further investigation by the court was unnecessary; and (2) Defendant’s claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel is dismissed without prejudice to raising it in a postconviction relief proceeding. View "State v. Cheetham" on Justia Law

Maggie Petaja was terminated from her position with Lewis and Clark County when she was age fifty-nine. After unsuccessfully pursuing relief on the administrative level, Petaja, a member of a collective bargaining unit represented by the Montana Public Employees’ Association (MPEA), filed a discrimination claim against the County. Petaja also filed suit against MPEA, alleging breach of the duty of fair representation. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the County on the discrimination claim and against MPEA on the breach of the duty of fair representation claim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) substantial evidence supported the jury verdict finding MPEA breached its duty of fair representation; (2) the jury verdict was not contrary to the instructions and law; and (3) the district court correctly found that it had no legal authority to award attorney fees. View "Petaja v. Mont. Pub. Employees’ Ass’n" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of driving under the influence, second offense. Defendant appealed, demanding a trial de novo. Defendant also filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that his constitutional rights had been violated by his trial being conducted by a non-lawyer judge in a court of record without trial de novo. The district court denied the motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant’s trial before a non-lawyer justice of the peace, even where a trial de novo was not available on appeal, did not violate his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel or to due process. View "State v. Davis" on Justia Law