Supervisory Control Denied Absent a Developed Record; Pretrial Subpoenas of Child Victims to Test Waiver Are Unreasonable Under Montana’s Victim‑Advocate Privilege Case: A. Burch v. Twentieth...
State v. Shewalter: Continuous Officer‑Documented Noncompliance Can Extinguish All Elapsed “Street Time”; Detention Credit Is Mandatory and Must Be Precisely Calculated Introduction In State v....
State v. Arvidson: Limiting Direct IAC Review to “Rare Instances” and Enforcing the Oral‑Pronouncement Rule Introduction In State v. Arvidson, 2025 MT 200, the Montana Supreme Court addressed two...
Summary Dissociation by Unanimous Vote Under § 35-8-803(1)(e)(i), MCA Includes Conduct That Would Force Fiduciary Breaches; Fair-Value Buyouts Must Consider Going-Concern Value Introduction In Hebert...
Reaffirming Montana’s Postconviction Limits: Claims Raised or Raisable on Direct Appeal Are Barred; Probable Cause Defects Do Not Affect Subject-Matter Jurisdiction Introduction In C. Hardy v. State,...
Swearing-In Does Not Moot Eligibility Challenges; Election-Law Injunctions Must Satisfy Montana’s Four-Factor Test Case: Bartel v. Middlestead, 2025 MT 195 (Mont. Sept. 2, 2025) Court: Supreme Court...
“Taxes Relating to the Property” in Liquidation MOUs: No Implied Duty to Reserve for a Debtor’s Capital Gains; Extrinsic Evidence Controls Before Contra Proferentem Introduction Gabert v. Seaman,...
Johnson v. State Farm (Mont. 2025): Attorney Fees Are Part of “Made Whole,” But Only for Covered Losses; Coverage‑Segmented Subrogation Clarified Introduction In Johnson v. State Farm Ins., 2025 MT...
Probable Cause Must Exist at the Moment of Seizure: Montana Supreme Court Clarifies the Line Between Extended Traffic Stops and Evidentiary Vehicle Seizures Introduction In State v....
Plain and Cumulative Error Narrowly Applied; Isolated Doyle Reference Deemed Nonprejudicial; Mandatory Jail‑Time Credit Correction — Commentary on State v. Martinez (2025 MT 197N) Introduction This...
Harmlessness of Replaying Testimonial Evidence Absent a “Particularized Need,” and Strict Prerequisites for Structural Error in Jury Selection — Commentary on State v. Purkhiser (Montana Supreme...
No Ex Post Facto Relief Where Duty Pre‑Existed 2007 SVORA: Waiver by Unconditional Plea and Direct‑Appeal Bar Reaffirmed Benton v. State, 2025 MT 191N (Mont. Aug. 26, 2025) — Memorandum opinion,...
Girasole v. Paws Up: Inherent Risk Defines Duty—No Liability Without Atypical Hazards or Statutory Exception Under Montana’s Equine Activities Act Introduction In Girasole v. Paws Up, the Supreme...
Logical Inferences Must Be Record‑Rooted: Montana Supreme Court Clarifies the “Some Evidence” Threshold for Self‑Defense Jury Instructions in State v. Holcomb (2025 MT 190) Introduction In State v....
Email Notice Counts: Montana Supreme Court Clarifies PFO Notice “Given” Need Not Be Filed by the Omnibus Deadline and Minor Tardiness Does Not Mandate Reversal Absent Prejudice Case Comment: State v....
The Temple Clarification on Cross-Jurisdiction Brady Obligations Introduction In G. Temple v. State, 2025 MT 185, the Supreme Court of Montana addressed whether a state prosecutor’s constitutional...
Boeshans v. Boeshans: Conditioning Parenting Rights on Court-Ordered Evaluations and Clarifying Ownership of Professional Limited Liability Companies Introduction The Supreme Court of Montana, in In...
Silence Isn’t Golden: Waiver of the Right to Compel Arbitration When Setting-Aside a Default — Commentary on Monarch Heating & Cooling, LLC v. Petra, Inc. I. Introduction The Supreme Court of...
State v. Barrus: Distinguishing “Knowing” from “Appreciating” Criminality in Post-Conviction Mental-Health Sentencing 1. Introduction State v. L. Barrus (2025 MT 183) required the Supreme Court of...
State v. Walton (2025 MT 186): Prosecutorial Limits on Parole-Restriction Recommendations When Plea Agreements Are Asymmetrical Introduction In State v. M. Walton the Supreme Court of Montana...