Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of sexual abuse of children for sending text messages to his stepdaughter encouraging her to engage in sexual activity if he agreed to pay her cellular phone bill, holding that there was no reversible error in any of Defendant's claims.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to give Defendant's proposed jury instruction that a violation of privacy in communications was a lesser-included offense of sexual abuse of children; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction; and (3) the district court's interpretation and application of the sentencing statutes were correct. View "State v. Brown" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the sentence imposed by the district court follow revocation of Appellant's suspended sentence, holding that the district court erred by denying credit for elapsed time served on probation without basing the denial on specific probation violations.At issue was whether the district court violated Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-203(7)(b) by denying credit for elapsed time served on probation without basing the denial on specific probation violations. The Supreme Court answered the question in the positive, holding that the district court erred by denying Defendant's requested elapsed-time credit under Mont. Code Ann. 46-18-203(7)(b). View "State v. Gudmundsen" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court terminating K.H.'s parental rights to her two children, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the conduct or condition rendering Mother unfit to parent was unlikely to change within a reasonable time.After a hearing, the district court granted the petitions filed by the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Child and Family Services Division to terminate K.H.'s parental rights to her children, finding that K.H. had failed the treatment plan and was unlikely to change in a reasonable amount of time. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by terminating Mother's parental right on the basis of its finding that K.H.'s conduct or condition rendering her unfit was unlikely to change within a reasonable time. View "In re A.M.G." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of sexual intercourse without consent, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence related to Defendant's accuser's pending DUI charge in another county; (2) the district court did not violate Defendant's constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him or present his defense by limiting cross-examination of Defendant's accuser regarding alleged leniency she may have received related to her pending DUI case in return for her testimony against Defendant; and (3) the chief prosecutor’s prior representation of Defendant did not deprive the entire Lake County Attorney’s Office of authority to prosecute Defendant. View "State v. James" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendant, Plaintiff's former employer, on her wrongful discharge claims brought under the Montana Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act (WDEA), Mont. Code Ann. 39-2-905(1), holding that genuine issues of material fact remained.After Plaintiff was discharged from her employment she brought this action alleging that Defendant discharged her without good cause, as defined by Mont. Code Ann. 39-2-903(5), and in violation of Defendant's own personnel policy. The district court granted summary judgment to Defendant on the wrongful discharge claims on the ground that the damages elements of those claims failed as a matter of law because Plaintiff failed reasonably to mitigate her claimed damages by seeking comparable full-time employment after her discharge. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the causation of damages element of Plaintiff's asserted wrongful discharge claims. View "Timpano v. Central Mont. District Six Human Resources Development Council, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the judgment of the standing master amending the parties' parenting plan regarding their minor child, L.D.C., and the related standing master judgment denying Mother's subsequent motion to transfer jurisdiction to the Tribal Court of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below.Mother and Father, members of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe, entered into a final parenting plan providing for them to co-equally parent L.D.C. The standing master later entered a written judgment amending the parties' parenting plan to place L.D.C. exclusively in Father's custody and care. Mother subsequently filed a state court motion for "transfer" of jurisdiction over the matter to the tribal court and a parallel child custody petition in the tribal court. The standing master denied both motions, and the district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) had jurisdiction to amend the prior parenting plan; and (2) properly amended the prior parenting plan. View "In re Parenting of L.D.C." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the sentencing order and judgment following Defendant's conviction of incest, holding that the district court did not err in excluding evidence of the complaining witness's prior statements regarding an alleged "false accusation" of sexual assault.After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of incest and sentenced to imprisonment for a 100-year sentence. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred when it excluded evidence of prior statements regarding an alleged "false accusation" of sexual assault made by K.O., the complaining witness. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of K.O.'s statements regarding the prior statements at issue. View "State v. Hansen" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the preliminary injunction entered by the district court enjoining Defendant from inhibiting Plaintiff's use of a disputed road over Defendant's property during the pendency of the proceedings to determine Plaintiff's rights, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that it had legal access to the disputed road and requested injunctive relief. After a hearing, the district court granted preliminary injunctive relief to Plaintiff enjoining Defendants from inhibiting Plaintiff's access to the road. Defendants appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not obviously, evidently, or unmistakably abuse its discretion by granting preliminary injunctive relief in this case. View "Flying T Ranch, LLC v. Catlin Ranch, LP" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court answered a certified question that law enforcement officers do not, as a matter of Montana law, act outside the scope of their employment when they use their authority as on-duty officers to sexually assault a person they are investigating for a crime.L.B. brought this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleging that she was sexually assaulted by Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Officer Dana Bullcoming after she called the police and reported that her mother was driving while intoxicated. The district court granted summary judgment for the Government, concluding that Officer Bullcoming was not acting outside the scope of his employment when he sexually assaulted L.B. because he was not acting in furtherance of his employer's interest. The The Ninth Circuit certified a question of law to the Supreme Court, which answered that, under Montana law, Officer Bullcoming's sexual assault of L.B. was within the scope of his employment as a law enforcement officer. View "L.B. v. United States" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court ruling in favor of Plaintiffs on cross-motions for summary judgment and enjoining the Montana Secretary of State from placing House Bill (HB) 325 on Montana's 2022 general election ballot, holding that the referendum proposal violates the Montana Constitution.In approved, HB 325 will establish seven Supreme Court districts in Montana and requires that Supreme Court justices be elected district by district, rather than statewide. Plaintiffs brought this challenge to the constitutionality of the measure. The district court granted summary judgment for Plaintiffs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in determining that the question of the constitutionality of the referendum proposed by HB 325 is ripe for judicial resolution; and (2) the district court did not err in enjoining the Secretary from placing HB 325 on the ballot in the 2022 general election. View "McDonald v. Jacobsen" on Justia Law