Thursday, December 31, 2009
Michael Cotter is now U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana
Michael Cotter has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Montana's next U.S. Attorney
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Bozeman Attorney Mike Wheat is Appointed by Governor to the Montana Supreme Court
Monday, December 21, 2009
Michael Cotter's Nomination Forwarded to the U.S. Senate for Confirmation Vote
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Montana Supreme Court Remands the Barry Beach, Poplar, Montana case to the District Court to Reconsider Barry Beach's Alleged Exculpatory Evidence
On November 24, 2009, the Montana Supreme Court reversed the Roosevelt County District Court's denial of Beach's petition for post conviction relief that was based on newly discovered evidence. The Court stated in its opinion:
[W]e remand Beach’s petition to the District Court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the newly discovered evidence alleged in Beach’s petition. The court must evaluate whether Beach’s alleged new evidence constitutes actual new evidence. The court shall apply a modified version of the five-prong Clark test and the Schlup “clear and convincing” standard to Beach’s alleged newly discovered evidence to determine in the first instance whether Beach’s petition establishes that a “jury could find, in light of the newly discovered evidence,” that Beach actually is innocent of his crime. Redcrow, ¶ 37. The court must assess whether a jury, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Beach guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Schlup, 513 U.S. at 329, 115 S. Ct. at 868. The District Court shall provide a written order of its decision in accordance with the legal standards set forth in this opinion.
The Great Falls Tribune article discusses some of the evidnce in the case. You can read the article here.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Conservative and Liberal Groups Unite Over U.S. Supreme Court Criminal Cases
Saturday, October 24, 2009
U.S. Justice Department Issues Memo Regarding the Prosecution of Medical Marijuana Patients and Caregivers Relevant to Montana
"As a general matter, pursuit of [the prosecution of significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, and the disruption of illegal drug manufacturing and trafficking networks] should not focus federal resources in your States on
individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana. For example, prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources. ."
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stated:
“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana.”
Although Montanan's passed legislation legalizing the use of medical marijuana, patients and caregivers can still face federal drug charges even though the patient or caregiver is in compliance with Montana state law. Montana requires a series of steps for a person to become eligible to obtain a medical marijuana card allowing him or her the lawful ability to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. This memo provides insight into the priorities of the U.S. Justice Department. You can read the New York Times article on the memo here.
Gallatin County Treatment Court
Monday, October 12, 2009
UPDATE: State Sen. Greg Barkus Charged With Felony Counts in Boating Accident Involving Montana U.S. Represenative Dennis Rehberg
Rehberg made the following statement regarding the allegations:
"I was surprised to learn the results of Greg's blood alcohol test." "He didn't appear to be impaired to me when we got on the boat for the return trip."
You can read the AP article on the CBS News page here.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Obama Nominates Michael Cotter for Montana U.S. Attorney
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Second Amendment of U.S. Constitution Applies to the States
Saturday, September 12, 2009
UPDATE: Investigation Continues in Boat Crash Case That Injured Congressman Rehberg
UPDATE: Montana's News Station has a page that is updated periodically with news on this case. Rehberg's back to work, prosecutor alleges that Barkus was drinking on the night in question, and law enforcement is awaiting the results of Barkus' blood alcohol concentration from the Montana crime lab. You can find the page here.
Friday, September 4, 2009
YouTube of Attorney's Oral Argument in Aid-in-Dying Case
Bozeman Police Officer Resigns Following Facebook Controversy
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Justice Stevens Retiring?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Montana Supreme Court to Rule on Aid-In-Dying / Treatment to End Life Case
UPDATE: Oral arguments were held in this case yesterday. Read the Billings Gazette article here.
Utah Gets Tough With Texting Drivers
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Bozeman City Commission to Consider Raising Parking Ticket Prices
Monday, August 17, 2009
90 percent of U.S. bills carry traces of cocaine
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bozeman police kill dog in Cooper Park area
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Massive Damage After Butte, Montana Hail Storm
Monday, July 6, 2009
Non-unanimous Juries? Not in Montana.
Section 26. Trial by jury. The right of trial by jury is secured to all and shall remain inviolate. But upon default of appearance or by consent of the parties expressed in such manner as the law may provide, all cases may be tried without a jury or before fewer than the number of jurors provided by law. In all civil actions, two-thirds of the jury may render a verdict, and a verdict so rendered shall have the same force and effect as if all had concurred therein. In all criminal actions, the verdict shall be unanimous.
As set forth above, Section 26 provides that, in a criminal case, a jury guilty verdict must be unanimous. Most Montanans probably already knew that to be the case, but may be surprised to learn that Oregon and Louisiana require only 10 out of 12 jurors to agree that a person is guilty of a crime for a conviction. Clearly we are fortunate in Montana to have a strong constitution protecting individual rights. The article discusses an Oregon man's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge his Oregon conviction in which only 10 out of 12 jurors voted to convict. According to the NY Times, the appeal is supported by "the American Bar Association, experts in jury behavior, legal historians, the criminal defense bar and civil rights lawyers." The article raises the appropriate question as to whether 84% of jurors agreeing with the prosecution is sufficient--clearly, from a constitutional perspective, it should not be.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Bernie Madoff Sentenced in Ponzi Scheme Case - Montanan Investors Were Victims
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009
Senator Webb's artice in Parade can be found here.The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 that I introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2009 will create a blue-ribbon commission to look at every aspect of our criminal justice system with an eye toward reshaping the process from top to bottom. I believe that it is time to bring together the best minds in America to confer, report, and make concrete recommendations about how we can reform the process.
Why We Urgently Need this Legislation:
With 5% of the world's population, our country now houses 25% of the world's reported prisoners.
Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1200% since 1980.
Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals.
Approximately 1 million gang members reside in the U.S., many of them foreign-based; and Mexican cartels operate in 230+ communities across the country.
Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Montana Self Defense
Justifiable use of force -- burden of proof. In a criminal trial, when the defendant has offered evidence of justifiable use of force, the state has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's actions were not justified.
In other words, the prosecution now has the burden, once self defense is raised by the defendant, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's use of force was not justified--the way it should be.