Montana Senate Eliminates Protections for Physician-Assisted Aid in Dying

By Darrell Ehrlick

Currently, physician-assisted aid in dying in Montana occupies a legal gray area. A 2009 Montana Supreme Court ruling said a physician can raise a defense in a homicide case, saying that a patient consented and sought out the drugs, but the high court said that it was ultimately up to the Legislature to make the final decision on the legality of physician assistance in suicide.

On Friday, the Montana Senate passed Senate Bill 136, which would disallow patient consent as a defense to physician-assisted aid in dying, effectively giving physicians no legal protection if they participated in administering drugs that would end a terminally ill patient's life.

The measure passed 29-20, with all Democrats voting against the measure.  Three Republicans joined the Democrats...

Senate Bill Seeking to Prohibit Legal Assisted Suicide Faces Third and Final Reading

By Alex Schadenberg

Senator Glimm

Montanans have a confusing legal situation concerning assisted suicide. 

In 2009, [Montana's] Baxter court decision declared that Montanans have a right to assisted suicide. The Baxter decision was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court where it was decided that there is not a right to assisted suicide in Montana[.]  ... [The Baxter court also] found a "defense of consent" meaning a Montana physician who assists a suicide must prove that there was consent [to death by the person who died.]

Senate Bill 136 legislatively declares that there is no defense of consent. ...

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) Had No Authority to Go Forward Regarding Climate Change

Consideration of the Montana climate change petition was outside of the jurisdiction of Montana's Public Service Commission (PSC), set forth here:  https://psc.mt.gov/About-Us/What-We-Do 

In the event that providing such jurisdiction would have been advisable, it would have been up to Montana's Legislature to enact appropriate legislation regarding same.

Without such enactment, addressing the proposed climate change petition was ultra vires, meaning beyond the scope of PSC's authority.

The Commission had no authority to go forward regarding the issue of climate change.  Going forward was a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Gov. Gianforte's Foundation Has Given Away $57 Million Since 2017. Here's Where It Went.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is among the state’s highest-profile political figures. He’s also a major philanthropic force.  Nonprofit tax records indicate that his family foundation gave $57 million to charities and social issue nonprofits between 2017, the year Gianforte was first elected to public office as a Montana congressman, and 2022, the most recent year for which detailed data is publicly available. 

Montana Legislature Responds to Held Climate Case Montana Supreme Court Ruling

By Staff Writer, Montana Sentinel Press 

Incoming President of the Senate Matt Regier, Kalispell [pictured right], and Speaker of the House Brandon Ler, R-Savage, issued the following statement in response to the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling today [06/18/24] in the Held v. Montana case: 

The Montana Supreme Court turned the courtroom into a legislative policy committee, drastically overstepping its constitutional boundaries into the Legislature’s role and violating the separation of powers. Montanans will continue to suffer decades of economic and social harm if we don’t turn our activist and overreaching courts around.

Judicial reform was already a top priority for Republican lawmakers in our legislative session that starts in less than three weeks. After today, our message to the judiciary is simply this: buckle up. 

The Lesson From Montana, Stop Judicial Usurpation Before It Becomes Too Late

By Rob Natelson

From time to time I’ve told the story of how the left-leaning activists on the Montana Supreme Court exercise oligarchical control over the people of the state state—see, for example, here, here, and here. (“Oligarchy” means “rule by the few, as opposed to “democracy,” rule by the people.)

By misconstruing parts of the state constitution, the Montana justices have snatched state public policy from the democratic branches of government. Among the areas of policy where the justices’ political preferences are decisive are election law, environmental law, business regulation, and health law.

In those areas, the court severely restricts the options open to the people’s elected representatives. For example, when the legislature decided to move back the voter registration deadline from Election Day to the day before, the court declared the change unconstitutional. (Of course, the deadline for registration traditionally has been a full month before Election Day.) The court didn’t give the legislature even 24 hours leeway!