Front-End Participation Satisfies Article II, Section 8: MLUPA Site-Specific Limits Survive Facial Challenge (and Covenant Declaration Vacated as Advisory) Introduction M.A.I.D. v. State (2026 MT 53)...
State v. Flores-Reyes: Third-Party Vehicle Consent Does Not Extend to Sealed Containers Hidden From View Absent Common Authority 1. Introduction In State v. Flores-Reyes (2026 MT 56), the Montana...
State v. Larson (2026 MT 55): Speedy-Trial Delay Is Counted Only When an Act Postpones the Trial/Disposition Date; Plea Negotiations Are Not a Waiver and the Clock Ends at the Plea Court: Supreme...
Mandatory DUI Minimum Fines Are Constitutional When Courts Suspend the Unpayable Portion After a Required Ability-to-Pay Inquiry (Overruling State v. Gibbons) Case: State v. N. Cole, 2026 MT 52...
Street-Time Credit on Revocation: Continuous-Violation Findings May Be Period-Based, Not a Daily Accounting Case: State v. Valenzuela, 2026 MT 57N (Mont. Mar. 17, 2026) (memorandum opinion,...
State v. Walton: Plain-Error Limits on Unpreserved Evidentiary Claims, Non-Mandatory 404(b) Limiting Instructions, and Permissible “Blind Expert” Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Trials Introduction...
Record Silence Sends Ineffective-Assistance and Right-to-Testify Claims to Postconviction Review (State v. Roope) 1. Introduction In State v. Roope, 2026 MT 51N (Mont. Mar. 10, 2026) (memorandum...
Buck v. Conrad: Oral Pronouncement Controls; No Double-Counting of Jail Credit on Revocation 1. Introduction In Buck v. Conrad (Mont. Mar. 10, 2026), petitioner Michael A. Buck sought habeas corpus...
Flat-Fee Retainers and Counsel Withdrawal: No Cronic Presumption When Withdrawal Is Granted and New Counsel Appointed Case: K. Briggs v. State (2026 MT 47) | Court: Supreme Court of Montana | Date:...
Parenting-Plan Modification Requires Admissible Proof of Changed Circumstances; Judge’s Remote (Zoom) Appearance Is Not Structural/Plain Error Absent Prejudice Introduction Case: In re the Marriage...
Guilty Pleas to Some Counts in a Single Information Do Not Trigger § 46-11-503(1)(b) Double-Jeopardy Bar Absent a Judgment or Sentence 1. Introduction State v. Standifur (2026 MT 49) addresses the...
Plain Error Must Be Requested in the Opening Brief; Napue Relief Requires Proof of Actual Falsity 1. Introduction In State v. J. Stinger, the Supreme Court of Montana affirmed Justin Casey Stinger’s...
State v. Sandberg (2026 MT 45): “Victim” Labeling in Disputed-Crime Trials and the Limits of Consciousness-of-Guilt Evidence 1. Introduction In State v. K. Sandberg, the Supreme Court of Montana...
No Per Se For-Cause Strike for a Juror’s “Preference” That the Defense Rebut the State—Impartiality Turns on the Totality of Statements and Voir Dire Context Case: State v. R. Haacke, 2026 MT 40...
Centron v. Hollewijn: Summary Judgment Must Track the Motion; “Reasonable Time” to Object in Account-Stated Claims Is Generally for the Jury 1. Introduction In Centron Services, Inc. d/b/a Rocky...
Permanent Protection Orders May Bar Parent-Child Contact Until Age 18 When Necessary to Prevent Harm I. Introduction Darrah v. Haggag (Mont. 2026 MT 43N) concerns whether the Seventeenth Judicial...
State v. Hinkle (2026 MT 42): No Hearing Required on a Motion to Discharge a Jury Panel Absent Facts Showing Substantial Noncompliance Affecting Randomness/Objectivity Court: Supreme Court of Montana...
Closely Related “Initiative-and-Referendum Right” Amendments Satisfy Montana’s Separate-Vote Rule; Fiscal Statements Require a Determinable Fiscal Impact Introduction In T. Kendrick v. A. Knudsen...
Stability Over Equal Time: No Requirement to Find “Detriment” Before Declining Equal Residential Parenting Under § 40-4-212, MCA Introduction In re the Marriage of Cool, 2026 MT 38N, is a Montana...
Notice and Element-by-Element Proof Required Before the Water Court May Generate Implied Pre-1973 Use Rights Outside a Decreed Period of Use Petrich Family Limited Partnership & Melin v. Trout...