Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress his text message conversation with an undercover federal agent and to dismiss the charge of patronizing prostitution, holding that the district court did not err.From his cell phone, Defendant responded to an ad placed in a warrantless internet sting operation. Thereafter, Defendant engaged in a text message conversation with "Lily," an undercover law enforcement officer. Defendant was subsequently charged with patronizing prostitution, a misdemeanor. Defendant filed a motion to suppress his text conversation with "Lily" and for dismissal of the case due to a lack of evidence. The district court denied the motions, and Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the warrantless use of a cloaked law enforcement officer under a fake internet advertisement for sexual services and the responsive text message conversation did not intrude upon an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy and therefore did not effect a constitutional search in violation of Defendant's right to privacy under Mont. Const. art. II, 10-11. View "State v. Staker" on Justia Law

In this original proceeding, the Supreme Court granted the petition for writ and assumed original jurisdiction over Petitioners' constitutional challenge and then held that Senate Bill 140 (SB 140 does not violate Mont. Const. art. VII, 8(2).SB 140 was passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. The bill abolished Montana's Judicial Nomination Commission and the previous process to screen applicants for vacancies on the Supreme Court and the District Courts. Petitioners brought this proceeding challenging the constitutionality of SB 140. The Supreme Court held (1) Petitioners had standing to challenge the constitutionality of SB 140; (2) urgent or emergency factors justified an original proceeding in this Court; and (3) SB 140 does not violate Article VII, Section 8(2). View "Brown v. Gianforte" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl and upheld the constitutionality of his sentence requiring lifetime GPS monitoring, holding that there was no reversible error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court erred to the extent it admitted the victim's taped forensic interview as a prior consistent statement, but there was not a reasonable possibility that the forensic interview contributed to Defendant's conviction; (2) Defendant did not sustain his burden to demonstrate that the prosecutor's closing arguments justified reversal of his conviction for plain error; and (3) the requirement for GPS monitoring imposed by Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-625(4)(b) is not facially unconstitutional under either the Montana or the United States Constitutions. View "State v. Smith" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court affirming the order of the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (PWF) revoking Animals of Montana, Inc.'s (AMI) roadside menagerie permit, holding that the district court did not err.AMI, which owned a large number of animals, operated under a roadside meager permit from FWP. After conducting an inspection of AMI's premises, FWP found numerous violations. FWP then issued AMI notice of revocation of its operating permit. The hearing officer determined that FWP established twenty-two violations and issued a final order revoking AMI's permit. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the affirmative defense of entrapment by estoppel did not prevent FWP from revoking AMI's roadside menagerie permit. View "Animals of Montana, Inc. v. State, Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) on Alexander and Ilma Brishkas' claims of inverse condemnation, negligence, and attorney fees and costs, holding that the district court did not err.The Brishkas sued MDT alleging that the breach of their 4.5 million-gallon, manmade fishpond on their property resulted from MDT's improvement of Montana Highway 487. The next year, Michael and Stacey Covey and the Covey Trust (collectively, the Coveys) sued the Brishkas for damages suffered to their property as a result of the breach of the pond. The jury returned a verdict against the Brishkas and award damages to the Coveys. Thereafter, MDT filed a motion for summary judgment. The district court granted the motion, concluding that the Brishkas were collaterally estopped from relitigating the issues of proximate cause and damages. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court properly determined that the elements of collateral estoppel were satisfied and that the Brishkas' claims were precluded. View "Brishka v. Department of Transportation" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Bob Walden and Sylvan Walden on their negligence suit against Yellowstone Electric Company (YECO), holding that the district court did not err.The Waldens were moving cattle north on a portion of Montana Highway 24 when Thomas Newell, who was driving a truck owned by YECO, ran into the cattle, killing ten heifers. The Waldens brought suit alleging negligence. The district court determined that Newell and YECO, as Newell's employer, were negligent as a matter of law in causing the death of the Waldens' cows. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below. View "Walden v. Yellowstone Electric Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court denying Defendant's motion to dismiss the count of negligent vehicular assault, a misdemeanor, holding that the district court erred in failing to dismiss the negligent vehicular assault count upon the close of the State's case-in-chief.Defendant was charged with four counts. At issue on appeal was Count III, negligent vehicular assault. Defendant asked the district court to dismiss the count for insufficient evidence. The court denied the motion to dismiss. Defendant was then convicted of Count III and other counts. The Supreme Court reversed the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to dismiss Count III, holding that the district court (1) erred in admitting hearsay evidence from the alleged victim to the investigating officer to prove an element of negligent vehicular assault; and (2) erred in refusing to dismiss Count III at the close of the State's case. View "State v. Butler" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed an order issued by the district court denying a motion for substitution of judge that was made after the Supreme Court reversed the summary judgment order of the district court and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that the district court erred in denying the motion for substitution for judge.This matter arose from condemnation proceedings concerning the water supply system serving the Missoula urban area. Mountain Water Company and Carlyle Infrastructure Partners, LP (collectively, Owners) filed a notice of constitutional question and motion for partial summary judgment, contending that Mont. Code Ann. 70-30-306(2) and (3) were unconstitutional. The district court determined that section 70-30-306 was constitutional facially and as-applied. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for limited discovery. On remand, Owners filed a motion for substitution of district judge. The district court denied the motion as untimely. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Owners were denied their right of substitution upon this Court's reversal of the district court's summary judgment order. View "Missoula v. Mountain Water Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of felony possession of dangerous drug (methamphetamine), holding that the district court did not err by prohibiting Defendant's examination of the State's crime lab witness about the involvement of a discharged crime lab employee with the drug evidence.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred by prohibiting him from cross-examining the crime lab witness about the discharged crime lab employee's prior testing and the need for retesting. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that where Defendant's trial request was premised upon speculation about contamination, the district court did not abuse its discretion in barring further inquiry. View "State v. Brasda" on Justia Law

In this original proceeding, the Supreme Court ordered that the motion filed by the Montana State Legislature "for the immediate disqualification of all Justices" of the Montana Supreme Court be denied, holding that the Legislature was not entitled to relief.In an original proceeding, the Legislature, as an intervenor, and Governor Greg Gianforte raised concerns about a survey conducted by the Montana Judges Association of its members facilitated by Beth McLaughlin, the Judicial Branch's Court Administrator, regarding Senate Bill 140, which has since been signed into law and changes the way the Governor fills vacancies for judges and justices in the state. At issue was an investigative subpoena the Legislature issued to the Department of Administration seeking the production of emails sent and received by McLaughlin between certain dates. McLaughlin sought to quash or enjoy enforcement of the subpoena, which began the instant proceeding. The Legislature subsequently issued a subpoena to each justice of the Montana Supreme Court demanding that each justice produce the emails subject to the investigative subpoena and then filed a motion to disqualify the justices. The Supreme Court denied the motion, holding that the Legislature was not entitled to its request. View "McLaughlin v. Montana Legislature" on Justia Law