Justia Civil Rights Opinion Summaries

After a justice court bench trial, Defendant was convicted and sentenced for partner or family member assault. The district court affirmed the conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the justice court jury was properly called pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. 3-15-313; (2) the court's determination that the charging documents in this case were sufficient under the law was not an abuse of discretion; and (3) the district court correctly affirmed the decision of the justice court to reject Defendant's proposed jury instructions on disorderly conduct as a lesser-included offense, which would have allowed the jury to convict Defendant of disturbing the peace instead of partner or family member assault. View "State v. Fehringer" on Justia Law

Brandon Davis was killed when the vehicle that he was driving collided with a small bus, owned by Defendant, that was parked in the middle of the interstate. Defendant was convicted of felony criminal endangerment, failing to use a lamp on a parked vehicle, failure to display warning devices on a disabled vehicle, and failure to park as close as practicable to the edge of the shoulder, among other things. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported Defendant's criminal endangerment conviction; (2) Defendant was not denied her right to be personally present at all critical stages of the trial; (3) Defendant was given effective assistance of counsel during trial; (4) the district court did not impose a greater sentence based on Defendant's refusal to admit guilt; but (5) the district court exceeded its authority when it restricted Defendant's eligibility for parole because it did not sentence Defendant to incarceration in a state prison. View "State v. Bekemans" on Justia Law

Defendant was arrested and charged with violating a permanent order of protection. While incarcerated, Defendant was charged with tampering with a witness. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on both counts. Defendant's written sentence contained terms and conditions that were not expressly stated during oral pronouncement of sentence. Defendant appealed, claiming his attorney was ineffective in offering erroneous jury instructions and in failing to file a motion to conform the written sentence to the orally-pronounced sentence. The Supreme Court held that Defendant's trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance, as (1) Defendant was not prejudiced in the giving of the disputed instructions; and (2) the cause was remanded for another sentencing hearing in which Defendant would be presented with and allowed to respond to the additional terms and conditions contained in his written sentence that were not listed by the court during the sentencing hearing. View "State v. Andress" on Justia Law

MCR, LLC filed an action for condemnation of a compressor station site on property owned by Appellees. Appellees counterclaimed against MCR for damage to their property and claimed punitive damages. Appellees sought restoration costs as the measure of damages for their contract, trespass, and nuisance claims. The parties stipulated to the substitution of MCR Transmission, LLC (MCR-T) for MCR on the condemnation claim. The district court dismissed MCR-T's condemnation claim and granted Appellees' summary judgment motion allowing Appellees to seek restoration costs. The jury awarded restoration costs and punitive damages to Appellees. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, holding that the district court (1) erred in dismissing MCR-T's motion to condemn Appellees' property for a compressor station, as genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether Appellees' property was necessary for the compressor station; (2) properly determined that Appellees were entitled to seek restoration costs as the measure of their damages; and (3) properly admitted evidence at trial that MCR had jumped Appellees' bid on state trust land leases. View "McEwen v. MCR, LLC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff The Big Sky Colony, Inc., a signatory to the Hutterian Brethren Church Constitution, organized itself as a religious corporation under Montana law. Plaintiff Daniel Wipf was the Colony's first minister and corporate president. Plaintiffs brought suit against the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, claiming that the requirement to provide workers' compensation coverage for the Colony's members engaged in certain commercial activities contained in HB 119 violated the Colony's rights under the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause and also violated the Colony's right to equal protection. The district court found in favor of the Colony. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the provisions of HB 119 that incorporated the Colony into the definition of "employer" and the Colony's members into the definition of "employee" under the Workers' Compensation Act did not violate the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, or the Colony's right to equal protection of the laws. View "Big Sky Colony, Inc. v. Dep't of Labor & Indus." on Justia Law

Defendant's vehicle collided with Plaintiff's vehicle as Plaintiff was driving through an intersection. The collision damaged both vehicles and injured Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint against Plaintiff, alleging negligence. The district court granted Defendant's motion for summary judgment, concluding that Defendant was not negligent nor did she proximately cause the accident, as the collision would not have occurred without Plaintiff's violation of the right-of-way statute. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Defendant was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, as (1) the evidence established factual issues concerning the parties' comparative negligence; and (2) the district court erred by concluding that the issue of whether Defendant was maintaining a proper lookout was not a genuine issue of material fact. View "Tonner v. Cirian" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of incest. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was not entitled to a new trial due to law enforcement's warrantless monitoring and recording of his telephone conversations with his daughter, the victim, where (i) the recordings of Defendant's conversations with his daughter violated his rights under the Montana Constitution as interpreted by the Court in State v. Allen, but (ii) the admission of the recordings at trial was harmless error; and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting sexually oriented photographs that Defendant took of his daughter. View "State v. Stewart" on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with DUI, fourth or subsequent offense. The information provided that Defendant was previously convicted of qualifying DUI offenses in 2009, 1999, and 1992. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss due to invalidity of prior DUI convictions, challenging his 1992 DUI conviction on the basis of constitutional infirmity. The district court denied Defendant's motion, concluding that Defendant failed to meet his burden to come forward with affirmative evidence establishing that his 1992 conviction was obtained in violation of the Constitution. Defendant subsequently entered a no contest plea to the DUI charge, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court's order denying Defendant's motion to dismiss, holding that the court correctly concluded that Defendant failed to meet his burden to persuade the court that his 1992 conviction was constitutionally infirm. View "State v. Nixon" on Justia Law

Defendant pled guilty to one count of sexual abuse of children pursuant to a plea agreement. The district court sentenced Defendant to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for seven years, with two years suspended upon several terms and conditions. The district court later revoked Defendant's suspended sentence after an evidentiary hearing at which it found Defendant in violation of the conditions of his sentence. The court then imposed a two-year commitment to the DOC and ordered that Defendant be designated a Level 3 sexual offender. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by elevating Defendant's sexual offender level designation from Level 1 to Level 3 upon revocation. View "State v. Claassen" on Justia Law

This appeal was the third in the course of this litigation. Plaintiffs were a group of landowners with properties on the shores of Flathead Lake and a portion of the upper Flathead River. Plaintiffs commenced this action in 1999 against Montana Power Company (MPC) and MPC's successor, PPL Montana, LLC, asserting claims of trespass, nuisance, a taking of property, and breach of easements. In Mattson II, Plaintiffs filed motions to certify the lawsuit as a class action. The district court granted the motions as to both Defendants. The Supreme Court vacated the district court's orders concerning class certification. On remand, the district court denied Plaintiffs' renewed motion for class certification. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court erred in its application of Mattson II to the class-certification question under Mont. R. Civ. P. 23; and (2) the six criteria for certification of a class action under Rule 23 were satisfied in this case. Remanded with instructions to certify the class. View "Mattson v. Mont. Power Co." on Justia Law