Great Falls court officials hold Hollywood myths in contempt

Great Falls Tribune: "Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson yelling at each other over the objections of another attorney and the judge in 'A Few Good Men' might make for a dramatic movie scene, but it bears little resemblance to what goes on in a real-life courtroom."

Mont.: Court says dinosaur fossils worth millions aren't minerals

NBC Montana News: "A divided Montana Supreme Court says under state law, dinosaur fossils aren't minerals. Wednesday's ruling has implications in an ongoing legal battle over the ownership of millions of dollars of fossils found on an eastern Montana ranch where the surface and mineral rights are owned by different people."

Montana Supreme Court upholds jury decision in stolen valor case

Flathead Beacon: "The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the decision of a Flathead County jury to force a Kalispell man to pay $1.7 million after he said he was a decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer in order to convince a well-known Whitefish businessman to invest in his business."

Judge reverses sale of Montana oil and gas leases on public lands

Courthouse News Service: "A federal judge in Montana ruled Friday that the Bureau of Land Management failed to fulfill its National Environmental Policy Act requirements when it issued 287 oil and gas leases in eastern Montana."

Mine workers’ asbestos suit against insurer advanced by Montana high court

Courthouse News Service: "The Montana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a workers compensation insurer is liable for damage claims from people who worked at the W.R. Grace vermiculite plant in Libby, Montana."

Montana court reverses $35 million child abuse verdict against Jehovah's Witnesses

NPR News: "The Montana Supreme Court has reversed a $35 million judgment against Jehovah's Witnesses for failing to report child sexual abuse."

Montana to implement revised legal ethics rules in 2020

Bloomberg News: "The start of 2020 will usher in a number of changes to Montana’s professional conduct rules as a result of the first comprehensive rules review in almost two decades."

Montana Supreme Court to decide whether dinosaur fossils are minerals

Courthouse News Service: "The Montana Supreme Court met en banc Thursday morning to decide once and for all whether or not dinosaur fossils are minerals."

Ninth Circuit strikes down Montana ban on political robocalls

Courthouse News Service: "Montana can’t outlaw political robocalls, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding the state’s law violates the First Amendment, hamstrings underdog candidates and fails to protect recipients from financial scams."

Are dinosaur fossils 'minerals'? The Montana Supreme Court will decide high stakes case

Science: "Pristine dinosaur fossils discovered in Montana have sparked a property rights dispute that has hit paleontologists like an asteroid. The lawsuit, now at the Montana Supreme Court, concerns who owns some of the greatest fossil finds in the last century."

Mont.: New family treatment court a resource for reunification

Daily Inter Lake: "Last week, a long-awaited family treatment court officially opened its doors to Flathead County families impacted by dependency and neglect cases, offering support for program-eligible parents pursuing reunification with their children who have been placed into Child Family Services."

Court: Montana ethics complaints are public information

Helena Independent Record: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down a Montana law requiring that any ethics complaint made against a state official be kept confidential, ruling that the law violated free-speech rights."

Legal battle over fossil rights kicked back to Montana Supreme Court

KTVQ News: "The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is doing some digging to figure out who exactly owns fossils found buried in Montana. The long-standing dispute is between landowners and mineral estates in Garfield County, who are making competing claims for the rights to the valuable finds."

Montana Supreme Court overturns parental rights termination

KX News: "The state failed to make a reasonable effort to reunite a woman with the son who was taken away from her after he was born with methamphetamine in his system, the Montana Supreme Court ruled."

Montana Supreme Court upholds 1882 right

Billings Gazette: "The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the oldest water right on Flatwillow Creek, dating back to 1882, according to an opinion filed on Tuesday."

Mont.: Court delay leads to dismissal of aggravated assault charge

U.S. News: "The Montana Supreme Court has ordered a District Court in northwestern Montana to dismiss an aggravated assault charge against a state prison inmate who pleaded no contest to hitting a bicyclist with his car in May 2016."

New Montana law ends statute of limitations on child sex abuse

Great Falls Tribune: "A bill to change Montana's child sexual abuse laws, including lifting the statute of limitations for prosecuting such crimes, was signed Tuesday by Gov. Steve Bullock."

Mont.: 'Riot' of miner's wives led to protection for officials, which Butte lawsuit may overturn

KPVI News: "If a former Butte woman wins her case against the Montana Board of Medical Examiners, she may reverse a judicial rule that was established when miners’ wives rioted against the Anaconda Company 73 years ago."

Mont.: New law clears up who owns fossils in state

Choteau Acantha: "Two Medicine Dinosaur Center researchers in Bynum are applauding Gov. Steve Bullock and the Legislature for clarifying Montana law that dinosaur fossils found on private property belong to the surface rights owners, not the mineral rights owners when there is a split estate."

Mont. court: No public defender unless jail time is at stake

Great Falls Tribune: "The Montana Supreme Court says a judge can't order a public defender to represent a criminal defendant if no jail time is at stake."

Montana Supreme Court sides with nurses in abortion provider case

Daily Inter Lake: "The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that allows two advanced practice nurses to provide abortions in the early stages of pregnancy while they challenge a law saying only doctors and physician assistants can perform the procedures."

University of Montana kicks off Indian Law Week

Missoulian: "Benji Headswift and Ray Kingfisher raised their voices high and beat a drum in tandem in a song to remember missing and murdered Native Americans around the world as a crowd of onlookers gathered for a dedication to Indian Law Week at the University of Montana."

Mont.: Appeals court to rehear case over dinosaur fossil ownership

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: "A full panel of a federal appeals court will hear arguments in a case to determine whether dinosaur fossils are part of a property’s surface estate or mineral estate in the case of split ownership."

Mont: At MSU, Sessions discusses time as U.S. attorney general

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: "Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions emphasized the Department of Justice’s accomplishments under his and President Donald Trump’s leadership in a speech at Montana State University on Monday."

Mont.: Supreme Court hearing on stage at UM as man's court appearance in dispute

KPVI News: "The question of whether a man's failure to appear for a routine court appearance was enough to override his constitutional right to a jury trial took center stage Friday at the University of Montana."

Montana Supreme Court orders new trial for Helena man found guilty after using truck, boat to stop high-speed chase

KTVH News: "The Montana Supreme Court has ordered a new trial in the case of a Helena man who was found guilty of misdemeanor charges after he used his truck and boat to stop a high-speed chase."

Montana Supreme Court explains 2018 ruling in Bullock's easement case against Fox

Helena Independent Record: "The Montana Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in a conservation easement case that pitted Gov. Steve Bullock against Attorney General Tim Fox came down to the definition of the word 'acquire.'"

Mont.: Billionaire brothers appeal 1882 central Montana water right to state Supreme Court

Billings Gazette: "A Petroleum County water right dating back to 1882 is again tied up in legal wrangling between one of Montana’s largest landowners and a Billings man."

US Supreme Court won't take challenge to Montana campaign finance law

Montana Public Radio: "Montana's 2015 campaign finance law survived its biggest test Tuesday. The U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, declined to take up a case challenging the state's Disclose Act."