Tag Archives: State: Montana

LifeNews: This week, in Montana District court, Judge Mike Menahan heard arguments involving doctor-prescribed suicide. At issue is the effort by Montanans Against Assisted Suicide to strike the state Board of Medical Examiners’ permissive policy that guides physicians on doctor-prescribed death.

World Net Daily: SAVE has published a list of 13 organizations that have issued letters calling on the department to rescind its sexual assault directive, including the American Association of University Professors, the American Council for Trustees and Alumni, the National Association for Scholars, Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, eight civil rights scholars, Accuracy in Media, the Heartland Institute, the Alliance Defending Freedom and Feminists for Free Expression.

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Benefits Restored To Montana’s Disabled Children Of Faith. | MP3 audio 10:34 mins

LifeNews: With Governor Peter Shumlin’s signature on a bill the state legislature approved, Vermont today becomes the third state after Oregon and Washington to legalize assisted suicide.

Disabled children attending faith-based schools who qualify for aid under a federal program will now be eligible to receive tuition aid in the wake of an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit against the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

NBC Montana: The 2013 legislative session wrapped up in Montana at the start of the weekend, and now Planned Parenthood of Montana says they’re planning to sue the state over a bill passed that requires anyone under 18 to get parental consent for an abortion.

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Montana wrongly discriminating against disabled children of faith.  | MP3 audio 10:08 mins

The Hill: The other retiring Democrats are Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa), Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Carl Levin (Mich.) and Frank Lautenberg (N.J.).

National Review: On Monday, the Montana state senate voted 27–23 to defeat a bill that would have definitively outlawed doctor-assisted suicide in the state.

AP: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will sign into law a bill that decriminalizes gay sex, 16 years after the state supreme court ruled the law unconstitutional.

Missoulian: After a half-hour of emotional debate, both for and against the measure, the House voted 64-36 to endorse Senate Bill 107 – one day after House members narrowly voted to remove it from the House Judiciary Committee, where it had been tabled on a party-line vote with Republicans in favor.

Billings Gazette: Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, who has been under a misconduct investigation for forwarding a racist joke email last year and who went on senior status last month, will leave the federal bench on May 3, said Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski on Tuesday.

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: One of the quieter – though equally intense – battles for religious freedom in America is being fought almost daily on behalf of young school children. This week, two cases from two different parts of the country spotlight the obstacles being placed before people of faith, like you, who want nothing more than to select a school that best meets the needs of their children and grandchildren.

HutchNews (AP): The Wilsons, backed by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, say refusing to provide tuition assistance to attend a religious school is unconstitutional.

KFBB.com (AP): The Wilsons, backed the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, say refusing to provide tuition assistance to attend a religious school is unconstitutional.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit late last week against the Montana Office of Public Instruction and Columbus Public Schools on behalf of a hearing-impaired preschooler. State and school district officials denied the young girl disability benefits for tuition payments because her parents enrolled her in a Columbus faith-based preschool.

LifeNews: We are 112 Montana physicians who have joined together to support HB 505. House Bill 505 is a short and simple bill that will clarify the law of physician-assisted suicide by clearly providing that physician-assisted suicide is not legal in Montana.

MTPRNews: A bill to remove a state law criminalizing homosexual sex continues its path through the legislature.

Citizen Link: Last November, Montanans voted for the Parental Notification Act by a 71 percent margin. This law requires abortion providers to notify at least one parent of a minor under the age of 16 prior to performing an abortion.

The Montana Standard: The Montana Democrat will recommend that District Judge Susan Watters take U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull’s Billings seat and that Supreme Court Justice Brian Morris replace U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon of Great Falls.

LifeNews: House Bill 505 will end the confusion over assisted suicide in Montana. The bill’s other purpose is to prevent the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

World Net Daily: They’re targeting 12 key states: Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Alaska, Arkansas, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. The strategy was profiled Monday by David Brody of CBN News. Brody said the groups – led by the American Renewal Project – are planning briefings for evangelical pastors, voter-registration drives and other events in an attempt “to restore American to its Judeo-Christian heritage.”

San Francisco Chronicle: Abortion foes, coming off a successful ballot initiative campaign requiring parental notification before teens undergo the procedure, launched into their legislative requests Tuesday with a renewed proposal to criminalize the killing of a fetus.

Religion Clause Blog: In Big Sky Colony, Inc. v. Montana Department of Labor and Industry, (MT Sup. Ct., Dec. 31, 2012), the Montana Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision upheld against constitutional attack amendments to the state’s workers compensation law that brings Hutterite Colonies within the definition of those covered when their members perform agricultural, manufacturing or construction services even though members do not receive wages. Instead Hutterites receive food, shelter, clothing and medical care from the Colony.

Matt Sharp appeared on the Vicki McKenna Show to discuss this: Montana school accused of bullying for including Christmas carols in school performance. | MP3 audio 11:42 mins

The Hill: Sen. Jon Tester was helped in his reelection bid by $10.2 million in spending from liberal outside groups, nearly twice as much as that spent by conservatives, according to a report from ProPublica. About $4.2 million of that was “dark money,” funds that come from organizations that are not required by law to disclose their donors.

World Magazine: Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom said, “Courts have responded in favor of schools playing Christmas music, as long as it serves an overall educational purpose.” Candi Cushman, an education analyst with CitizenLink, which is associated with Focus on the Family, said, “From what we’ve seen, the school appears to have chosen a perfectly reasonable, balanced mix of songs like ‘Up on a House Top’ and ‘Joy to the World’ and has correctly emphasized that the musical program serves an educational purpose, reflecting long-standing, nationwide traditions.” I can respect the fact that Christmas songs might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this is bullying, then no public expression of Christianity, no matter how banal and innocuous, is safe from censure.

Daily Caller: If the threatened lawsuit by the unnamed parents materializes, it would face substantial legal hurdles according to David Cortman, an attorney who specializes in the First Amendment at Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative-leaning nonprofit. “It doesn’t create a constitutional crisis to sing Christmas songs at Christmastime,” Cortman told the Daily Mail. “If every time there was a piece of art or classical musical with a religious theme, we censored it, we would be eliminating much from the students’ education.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys sent a letter Wednesday to Missoula County Public Schools after the district faced complaints that certain religious songs should not be included in a Christmas performance by children at Chief Charlo Elementary school.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: “For them to include traditional religious Christmas carols is perfectly constitutional,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. “The courts have clearly held that it’s constitutional for schools to include traditional religious carols as part of a secular educational music program.” The ADF said they sent a letter to the Missoula, Mont. School district advising them of their rights under the law and offered to give them legal support in the event of a lawsuit.

William Duncan at National Review: I’m not making this up and these are only some of the more colorful passages. There’s plenty more ad hominem and amateur theology on display throughout the opinion.

Missoulian: A group of parents at Chief Charlo Elementary School are so upset over the selection of songs for the school’s holiday music program they are considering legal counsel.

“Society should protect and strengthen marriage, not undermine it. This lawsuit sought to undermine Montana’s legal definition of marriage as a man and a woman by eliminating the state’s ability to distinguish between married and unmarried couples for the purpose of benefits. Marriage expresses the truth that men and women bring distinct, irreplaceable gifts to family life. The state is on firm ground to recognize and promote that ideal for the good of society.”

KTAR.com (AP): The Montana Supreme Court on Monday rejected an “overly broad” request that gay couples be guaranteed the same benefits as married couples. The court wrote in Monday’s 4-3 decision Monday that a lower court was within its discretion when it earlier dismissed the request. But the Supreme Court left the door open for the gay couples to modify their request and try again. | Donaldson v. Montana

NECN.com: Helena’s city commissioners have given initial approval to an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Tuesday’s 5-0 vote sets a public hearing on the measure for Dec. 17.

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Montana strips benefits from disabled preschooler. | MP3 audio 11:27 mins

Religion Clause Blog: In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Weber, (D MT, Nov. 27, 2012), a Montana federal district court held that an advocacy organization has standing to bring an Establishment Clause challenge to the decision by the U.S. Forest Service to allow the continued presence of a statue of Jesus on National Forest Service land within Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Ed News: If Clayton Fiscus, a new Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives, has his way, intelligent designwill soon be taught alongside evolution across the state.

LifeNews: Attorneys Greg Jackson and Matt Bowman did an extensive analysis of the case and concluded it “did not legalize assisted suicide and it continues to carry both criminal and civil liability for any doctor, institution, or lay person involved.” The Montana Lawyer, the official publication of the Montana State Bar concluded the issue is open to argument, confirming that the legislature needs to clarify the issue this coming session.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a complaint Friday with the Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction on behalf of a hearing-impaired preschooler denied disability benefits for tuition payments because her parents chose to enroll her in a Columbus faith-based preschool.

Billings Gazette: Republican Tim Fox said Wednesday that he will fight what he called the over-reach of federal government as Montana’s next attorney general after winning the post by a six-point margin over Democrat Pam Bucy.

LifeNews: There are 37 states that require parental notification or permission before a minor can get an abortion. Montana is one of just 13 states without this common-sense policy. However, 70 percent of voters in the state approved Legislative Referendum 120, which takes a step toward solving this problem. LR-120 would require an abortion practitioner to notify a parent of a girl younger than age 16 before performing an abortion.

Religion Clause Blog: While the Presidential contest obviously looms largest at the polls tomorrow, those interested in church-state and religious liberty issues are watching a number of down-ballot issues and contests . . .

LifeNews: While most pro-life Americans are understandably focused on the Presidential election and key Congressional races, citizens in several states will also vote on life-related ballot initiatives on November 6th. Below is a summary of these initiatives, and why they are important.

San Francisco Chronicle: Back-and-forth court decisions striking and reinstating Montana laws that regulate campaign contributions have set this election cycle roiling, resulting in candidates showered by unexpected cash and a flurry of legal challenges ahead of Election Day.

How Appealing links to several reports and the ruling in Lair v. Bullock.

Religion Clause Blog: In Zastrow v. Bullock, (D MT, Oct. 2, 2012), a Montana federal district court entered a permanent injunction with the consent of all parties barring enforcement of a Montana statute, MCA § 13-35-218(2) which provides . . .

Election Law Blog: Wow.  See this 5 page order, striking down Montana Code Annotated 13-37-216 in its entirety. The judge did note that plaintiffs did not challenge the aggregate limits on political party contributions in 13-27-218which remains in effect.

The Independent Record: While a federal court says political parties can now endorse nonpartisan judicial candidates in Montana, the two candidates for an open state Supreme Court seat said this week they won’t accept the endorsements — because a state judicial ethics code forbids it.

The Republic: The courts have struck down another Montana election law as unconstitutional. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion Monday that tosses out the state’s ban on political party endorsements of nonpartisan judicial candidates. | Sanders County Republican Cent. Comm. v. Bullock

HSLDA: This summer, homeschool graduate Christina Colster (names changed to protect privacy) received an answer she had waited for her entire senior year: Social Security recognized that she was a homeschooled student and awarded her benefits previously denied.

VerdeNews.com: But attorneys from non-reciprocity states have to take the full-blown, two-day Bar examination. That requires not only extensive preparation — particularly for those who have been out of school for some time — but also waiting to find out if there was a passing score. The lawyers who are suing are from California and Montana, both non-reciprocity states. Also suing is the National Association for the Advancement of Multijurisdictional Practice, based in California.

Jay Sekulow at the Church Report: It’s a troubling pattern that we see often. An atheist group is “offended” by a statue or memorial that they consider to be offensive. They file a federal lawsuit to try to get it removed. This time, it’s happened in Montana . . .

KXLF.com: One of those who showed up Monday night at the Veteranns of Foreign Wars in Whitefish was 91-year-old Arnie Funk oh Helena, who made the trip to hear the status of the lawsuit himself. He served in the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, the same division for which the statue was erected.

NECN.com: The Daily Inter Lake reports ( ) CeCe Heil with the American Center for Law and Justice told those attending a town hall in Whitefish Monday that case law discourages the government from being “hostile” to religion.

AP: The Russian government officials arrived with a Moscow television crew in tow at the gates of a ranch for adopted children in remote northwestern Montana and demanded to be let inside.

The Court issued a short per curiam ruling in American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, No. 11-1179 from which Justice Breyer dissents joined by Ginsburg, Sotomayer, and Kagan.

Great Falls Tribune: A Montana couple who say they would have terminated a pregnancy if they had known their daughter would be born with cystic fibrosis can move forward with their lawsuit against their health care providers, a state judge has ruled.

Missoulian: The GOP had held the position seeking to criminalize homosexuality since a 1997 Montana Supreme Court case struck down similar state laws. The party had been criticized in recent years for continuing to maintain the stance.

Elder Law Answers: Only two states have passed laws legalizing assisted suicide in certain limited circumstances. Under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, physicians can prescribe lethal medication that will allow terminally ill individuals to end their lives. There are very specific steps–including waiting periods and release forms–that must be followed before the medication can be prescribed. Washington has a similar law. The law in a third state, Montana, is less clear.

Think Progress: In recent days, state Democratic parties in Montana, Texas, and Pennsylvania have agreed to add marriage equality to their 2012 platforms. Even though same-sex marriage is currently outlawed in all three states, these state Democratic parties have decided that same-sex marriage fully deserves formal recognition on their upcoming agendas.

NBC Montana: New developments are emerging in the fight over the Jesus statue on Big Mountain. The Knights of Columbus, the group that put the statue there nearly 60 years ago, will have their say in court.

Market Watch: It’s a war memorial that has commemorated the valor and sacrifice of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division for more than 50 years. And yesterday, one day after Americans solemnly observed Memorial Day, the Knights of Columbus — represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — asked to intervene in a pending lawsuit to defend the memorial’s right to exist on public land in Montana.

Helena Independent Record: Haddon ruled that Montana’s filing deadline for independent candidates “imposes a significant barrier to the exercise of rights protected and guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitutional of the United States and is unconstitutional.”

Law.com: Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a federal judge, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, ruled that a state law linking public campaign matching funds in judicial elections to spending by opposing candidates violates the First Amendment.

In September of 2011, a coalition of plaintiffs made up of Montana residents, corporations, political committees and a candidate for the Montana House filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of various Montana laws that regulate political campaigns. In February, federal judge Charles Lovell preliminarily enjoined enforcement of several of the challenged laws, holding that those regulations are likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
On Wednesday, Judge Lovell permanently struck down three Montana laws, while upholding one.

Findlaw: In February, the Supreme Court stayed the Montana decision, (now called American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock), pending a petition for writ of certiorari. Justice Ginsburg, joined by Justice Breyer, issued a statement supporting the stay in light of stare decisis, but expressing an interest in re-examining Citizens United.

AP: State attorneys asked the Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday to reverse a state judge’s decision and impose the 2009 law that requires Hutterite colonies to pay workers’ compensation insurance.

KULR8.com: Six same-sex couples in the state of Montana are getting ready to present their case to the state Supreme Court Friday seeking the same legal rights as married couples. Their case reached the high court after a district judge ruled against them.

KRTV.com: Same-sex couples seeking domestic partnership recognition will get a chance to make their case to the Montana Supreme Court.

Today three corporations asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Montana Supreme Court’s holding that corporations in Montana may be banned from making independent political expenditures by expressly advocate the election or defeat of state candidates.

Billings Gazette: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider at least three judicial misconduct complaints that have been filed against Montana’s Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull as well as the judge’s own request for a review.

Great Falls Tribune: Human rights groups and several congressional leaders called on Montana Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Thursday to step down in light of the federal judge forwarding a racist email about President Barack Obama to several of his friends

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JUDGE_OBAMA_EMAIL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-03-01-09-58-45

Great Falls Tribune: The parents of a child born with cystic fibrosis have filed a lawsuit against health care providers saying they would have terminated the pregnancy had they known of the genetic disorder.