http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-20T09:02:19-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_state_court_says_couple_must_pay_disputed_94_plus_5k_more_to_law_firm/ Sued by a Montana law firm over an unpaid legal bill, Daniel and Valery O’Connell anted up some $3,000 to satisfy the 2010 judgment but disputed $93.99 of the total. The result was another lawsuit, a default judgment and an eventual determination by the state's highest court earlier this month… Consumer Law, Contracts, Law Firms, Solos/Small Firms, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Montana Mon, 20 May 2013 07:00:22 -0500 44262.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_who_sent_racist_email_will_retire/ A federal judge who sent an email containing a racist joke about President Barack Obama to several people last year while serving as chief judge for the District of Montana will retire from the bench May 3. The plan by U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, who took senior status last… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:10:43 -0500 43581.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/asked_to_release_all_texts_on_claimed_rape_victims_cellphone_mont._judge_ok/ Although Montana has what a state court judge describes as some of the most stringent privacy laws in the country, that didn't prevent a defendant in a high-profile felony sexual-intercourse-without-consent case from gaining access to information on the claimed victim's cellphone. An opinion (PDF) last week by Missoula… Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Montana Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:26:46 -0600 41765.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/in_lopsided_vote_montana_voters_express_disapproval_of_citizens_united/ Montanans aren’t giving up the fight after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in June that the Citizens United campaign finance ruling applies in the state. Seventy-five percent of Montana voters on Tuesday approved an initiative calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, report the Wall Street Journal Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Election Law, U.S. Supreme Court, States, Montana Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:17:51 -0600 41545.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/retired_state_supreme_court_judge_takes_justice_of_peace_court_bench_after_/ A retired former justice of the Montana Supreme Court is temporarily serving as a justice of the peace in Lake County, after her longtime predecessor on the Polson court seat abruptly resigned. Judge Diane Barz, who lives near Flathead Lake with her husband, had to get special permission from the… Careers, Government Law, Judiciary, Labor & Employment, States, Montana Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:55:16 -0500 40203.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/9th_circuit_says_27m_whistle-blower_award_is_taxed_as_ordinary_income/ A former chief financial officer for a Montana hospital eventually reaped a $27 million benefit by blowing the whistle on his former employer's accounting fraud. But James Alderson's reward from filing qui tam suit under the federal False Claims Act is taxed as ordinary income, not under the lower capital… Administrative Law, Appellate Practice, Corporate Law, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:51:23 -0500 39787.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/summary_reversal_could_be_used_in_citizens_united_sequel_is_it_appropriate/ The question in a Citizens United sequel is not whether the U.S. Supreme Court will accept the case but how the justices will reverse the Montana Supreme Court. That’s the assessment of a New York Times Sidebar column, which says it’s “pretty much a sure thing”… Election Law, U.S. Supreme Court, States, Montana Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:04:39 -0500 39190.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bovine_legal_battle_pits_bison_against_cattle/ Sixty-three relocated bison now living on a reservation in northern Montana are at the center of a legal battle. Tribal officials and environmentalists praised the relocation of the bison from Yellowstone National Park in March, but a lawsuit soon followed, according to the New York Times Green blog.… Animal Law, Environmental Law, States, Montana Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:24:04 -0500 39048.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_nixes_duty-to-warn_case_against_attorney_by_victims_of_elderly_client/ Updated: A federal judge in Helena is pushing the estate of an elderly Florida retiree to settle the tort case brought by a Montana woman and her daughter after he became obsessed with the girl, drove to her home more than 2,000 miles away and attacked the mother outside their… Criminal Justice, Family Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:54:17 -0500 38457.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/9th_circuit_committee_appointed_to_investigate_judges_racist_email/ Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed a committee to investigate ethics complaints about a federal judge who admitted he sent an email with a racist joke about President Obama. Kozinski appointed the five-member committee on March 23 to investigate the… Judiciary, Legal Ethics, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:13:54 -0500 38173.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/three_cups_of_tea_author_agrees_to_repay_his_charity_more_than_1m/ The author of the book Three Cups of Tea has agreed to repay the charity he co-founded more than $1 million in a settlement with the Montana attorney general. An investigation of Greg Mortenson found problems in the management of his charity, the Central Asia… Attorney General, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Montana Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:43:03 -0500 38167.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_stays_montana_campaign_ruling_ginsburg_sees_opportunity_to_re/ A controversial Montana ruling that distinguished Citizens United and upheld corporate campaign restrictions in the state could give the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit the issue, according to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Montana ruling on Friday pending action on an upcoming cert… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Election Law, Judiciary, U.S. Supreme Court, States, Montana Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:16:24 -0600 37436.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_montana_municipal_judge_takes_plea_in_federal_bribery_case/ A former municipal judge for Butte and Silverbow County, Montana, has taken a plea in a bribery case. Steven J. Kambich, 53, who has been on the bench there since 2004, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Missoula to a single county of bribery. It concerned $13,000 in payments… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Judiciary, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:14:58 -0600 36889.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/montana_supreme_court_says_citizens_united_doesnt_apply_to_state_law/ The Montana Supreme Court has ruled the controversial Supreme Court decision Citizens United doesn’t require it to overturn a state law that bars corporations from making independent campaign expenditures for or against candidates. The Montana high court cited several reasons why the law survived a First Amendment challenge, report the… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Election Law, States, Montana Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:53:34 -0600 36704.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_wants_montana_sex_offenders_to_know_im_not_the_person_writing_you_cr/ A Montana lawyer thinks someone with a personal vendetta against her is responsible for letters being sent to registered sex offenders that contain her home address and phone number. The letters criticizing the sex offenders bear the signature of workers compensation lawyer Leslae Dalpiaz, report NBC Montana… Criminal Justice, States, Montana Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:06:34 -0600 36380.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_case_could_affect_control_of_nations_riverbeds/ A U.S. Supreme Court case on the ownership of land below three Montana rivers could affect control of riverbeds throughout the country. Montana asserts it owns the land and it is entitled to rent from a company that operates hydroelectric dams along the rivers, the Washington Post… Environmental Law, Government Law, U.S. Supreme Court, States, Montana Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:30:11 -0600 36193.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/man_gets_8_years_for_setting_fire_to_montana_law_office/ A man who said he had been hired by a lawyer's wife to kill her husband but couldn't bring himself to do it and instead torched the attorney's Montana law office has been sentenced. Frank Wayne Campbell, 43, was given eight years and four months by a federal court in… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Personal Lives, States, Montana Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:39:22 -0600 35965.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_sued_over_shooting_by_elderly_client_complaint_alleges_he_should_hav/ A Florida lawyer has been named as a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit seeking damages over a shooting in another state by an elderly client. Attorney David Gilmore should have anticipated that his client, Thomas Kyros, 81, posed a danger to Georgia Smith and her young adult daughter, Promethea… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Criminal Justice, Family Law, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Tort Law, Trusts & Estates, 9th Circuit Court, States, Montana Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:21:19 -0500 35507.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_clerk_sues_judge_for_assault_says_he_slapped_her_with_a_legal_file/ A female law clerk who is also an attorney has filed suit against the Fergus County, Mont., judge for whom she works, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for assault. Britt T. Long says in the Fergus County District Court suit that she took an unpaid medical leave after District Court… Judiciary, Labor & Employment, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Montana Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:58:14 -0500 35121.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/longtime_u_of_montana_law_prof_denied_emeritus_status/ A conservative constitutional scholar who formerly taught at the University of Montana for 23 years has been denied emeritus status in a faculty vote. Rob Natelson, who retired in May 2010 as a tenured faculty member to join the Independence Institute, said he was disappointed by the "petty" and "inexplicable"… Careers, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment, Law Professors, Law Schools, States, Montana Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:57:30 -0500 33429.abajournal.com