Legal Action

• Jail & prison conditions
• Medical care for incarcerated
• Langford case
• Belgrade Sex Offender Case
• Monitoring mentally ill prisoners
• Responding to police abuse of power

• Overcrowding in correctional facilities decreases
• Disabled and mentally ill inmates accommodated
• Adequate medical care provided to inmates
• Just sex offender statues which allow for restorative justice
• 4th Amendment rights are protected in the criminal justice system

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Monitor: Law & Justice Interim Committee, Corrections Advisory Council, Board of Crime Control
• Alternatives to prison: juveniles, mentally ill

• Criminal Justice system fair and appropriate
• Facilities for incarceration are humane Rehabilitation occurs
• Adequate, community based, treatment facilities exist statewide

Public Education

• Link key elements to costly & ineffectual criminal justice system

• " Greater public awareness and understanding of essential elements for a healthy criminal justice system

Legal Action

• Monitoring complaints about adequate defense

• Public Defender System is fully functioning and operating constitutionally

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Monitor Public Defender Commission
• Seek to insure constitutional operation of system
• Generate support for adequate funding

• Public Defender system is:
  • adequately funded,
  • provides legal defense for all indigent clients
  • operates constitutionally

Legal Action

• Lethal injection challenge
• Right to know

• Imposes a moratorium on all executions Montana

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Work with Abolition Coalition to pass Death Penalty Abolition Bill in 2009 Legislative Session
• Develop statewide grassroots network

• Legislature enacts laws to abolish the death penalty in Montana
• Active legislative network

Public Education

• Educate public about issues through speakers, panel presentations, Freedom Files, workshops

• Public support for abolition of death penalty

Legal Action

• Nelson Amicus Brief
• Monitoring probation/parole revocations in medical marijuana cases

• Rights of persons protected
• Medical marijuana laws upheld

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Monitor: Law & Justice Interim Committee, Corrections Advisory Council, Board of Crime Control
• Alternatives to prison: non-violent offenders convicted of illegal drug use or possession
• Work to improve elements of medical marijuana law

• Criminal justice reform including:
  • Appropriate alternatives to incarceration
  • Adequate funding for community based treatment
  • Full implementation of Medical marijuana laws
• End of the "war on drugs"

Public Education

• Speaker at Annual Meeting
• Training for Public Defenders

• Great openness to Drug Law reform

Legal Action

• FOIA Requests

• Constitutional guarantee of privacy rights remains intact

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Build on bipartisan 2005 legislative resolution against elements of Patriot Act and other intrusive government actions
• Build on unanimous, bipartisan 2007 legislation opposing implementation of Real ID Act in Montana
• Build support for US Senate votes against expansion of FISA

• Continued public advocacy for protection of individual civil liberties and privacy rights
• Movement towards repeal of National Real ID act
• Active grassroots network

Public Education

• Public event featuring librarians awarded the Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty
• Use of Freedom Files to generate public awareness, dialogue and action

• Greater public awareness and understanding of essential freedoms
• Individual citizens speaking out in defense of civil liberty

Legal Action

• Memo to Attorney General's Office on language in ballot initiative
• Monitoring religious refusals and providing legal support to coalition work

• Constitutional guarantee of privacy rights remains intact

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Collaborate with members of Montana Reproductive Rights Coalition to defeat ballot initiative to amend Article II, Sec. 3 of Montana Constitution
• Collaborate with the Montana Sex Education Partnership to:
  • respond to religious refusal of pharmacists in filling birth control prescriptions
  • replace publicly funded "abstinence-only" sex education with comprehensive sex education

• Constitutional guarantee of privacy rights remains intact
• Religious liberty is not violated and access to contraceptives is guaranteed
• Public funds are not used to support faith-based approach to sex education
• Appropriate and comprehensive sex education is taught in public schools

Public Education

• Sponsor public events to generate public awareness, dialogue and action
  • Freedom Files
  • LTEs

• Greater public awareness and understanding of essential freedoms
• Individual citizens speaking out in defense of reproductive rights

Legal Action

• Kulstad case

• Civil rights of persons protected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Participate in Safe Schools Coalition

• Rights of LGBTQ students and staff in schools are protected
• Schools are provided with knowledge about and tools for creating a "safe environment" for all students

Public Education

• Provide "Safe Schools" workshop at annual meeting
• Sponsor public events to generate public awareness, dialogue and action

• Greater public awareness and understanding of essential freedoms
• Individual citizens speaking out in defense of reproductive rights

Legal Action

• Respond to intake regarding separation of church/state violations
  • 10 Commandments in Court House & Park
  • Doxology at Senior Center

• 1st Amendment rights are upheld

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Continue work with Montana Reproductive Rights Coalition to eliminate public funding for faith based "abstinence-only" sex education programs

• Elimination of government sponsored faith based programs

Public Education

• Provide on-going training about role of religion in public schools
• Sponsor public events to generate public awareness, dialogue and action

• Greater public awareness and understanding 1st Amendment Rights
• Individual citizens speaking out in defense of religious freedom

Legal Action

• Respond to Disparities in Law Enforcement & Sentencing
• Respond to reported violations of the civil liberties of immigrants
• Respond to infractions of voting rights

• Constitutional Rights are upheld

Advocacy & Policy Change

• Monitor: Law & Justice Interim Committee, Corrections Advisory Council, Board of Crime Control
• Examine School to Prison Pipeline issues
• Monitor voting rights of Montana Indians on and off Montana reservations
• Advocate for appropriate immigration policies

• Decrease of racial discrimination in criminal justice system and public education system
• Immigration reform which provides for the protection of basic civil liberties

Public Education

• Perform outreach to generate public awareness, dialogue and action on the importance of the Voting Rights as it relates to Montana's 7 Indian reservations and electoral politics
  • School boards
  • County government
  • State legislative representation

• Greater public awareness and understanding of racial discrimination and the role it plays in violating basic civil liberties
• Support for guaranteed voting rights
• Individual citizens speaking out in defense of racial justice

Legal Action

• Respond to violations of 1st Amendment Rights
  • Friends of the Bitterroot

• 1st Amendment rights are upheld